Adventures at the Academy
by Serina Elric
Summary: This is a summary of everything that happened to Jim Hawkins while he was attending the interstellar academy and all the events that followed in the exepdition he was sent on thereafter.
1. Josh, Tristan, and the Academy

"Mister Hawkins, I'd be proud to recommend you to the Interstellar Academy. They could use a man like you. What do you say?" Captain Amelia's offer was too good for Jim to pass up. So as soon as he finished helping his mother rebuild the Benbow Inn, he was shipped of to the academy, literally! Jim walked off the long boat and into the entrance hall of the academy. The inside of the building was awe inspiring. Jim simply stood in the middle of the hall with his mouth open in amazement, and his luggage hanging over his shoulder.

Captain Amelia came in from the admissions office and saw Jim admiring his surroundings. "Mr. Hawkins, I'm glad to see that you have arrived safely at the academy."

"Captain.", Jim said being drawn out of his reverie.

"Come Hawkins, we must have you fitted for you uniforms." The captain said leading Jim to a room across the hall.

"My what?" Jim said, already dreading what he had just heard.

"Oh come, Hawkins. You didn't think that the Interstellar Academy would allow their students to wear clothes such as yours, did you?"

They entered the room where a student was having his measurements taken and another was just leaving with his finished uniforms. Captain Amelia approached the tentacle haired seamstress and asked her to take Jim's measurements. While the cat-like captain was consorting with the seamstress, the human student who had just gotten his uniforms was about to exit when he stopped to look a t Jim.

The academy student seemed to be looking him over, and Jim took the time to do the same. This boy was about the same age as Jim and had clean black hair that covered one of his brown eyes. Jim also noticed that there was a demeanor about this boy that seemed upsetting about him. The boy spoke up saying "The academy is letting in even the trash from Montressor? Hmmm, pity." Jim couldn't believe what this stranger had just said. It made his blood boil.

"If we still lived by the rules of the academy's beginning, only nobles such as me would be allowed to enter this dignified school." Jim glared at him, but it didn't faze him one bit. The young student left the room with a haughty chuckle. Had the others not been present, Jim would have wasted no time taking him luggage bag and hitting the boy over the head with it.

"Mr. Hawkins, please strip down to your underwear and step up on the stool." said the tentacle haired seamstress. Jim forgot about the boy he had just encountered and did as he was told. The seamstress used her hands and her tentacles to position Jim in the way she needed him to be for measurements. The look of utter loathing for the boy he had just met lingered on Jim's face, and the boy standing on the stool next to him seemed to notice.

"Don't let Tristan get to you. He just thinks he's oh so important because he comes from a family of nobles. My name is Joshua by the way." said the alien boy. Joshua overall looked human but instead of hair he had fish fins that resembled hair and webbed fingers and toes. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jim Hawkins." Jim tried to reach his hand out to shake Joshua's hand, but the seamstress moved hi arm back to where it was.

The boys finished having their measurements taken, stepped down from the stools, and put on they're clothes. As they waited for they're uniforms were made by the 2 seamstresses, they discussed what classes they were to take.

"I was assigned to tech and flight classes. What about you, Jim?"

"Same, but I'm being forced to take space combat after normal hours with a personal trainer." Jim said slightly exasperated.

"Wow. What did you do to get yourself in that class?" Joshua said in slight amazement. "What do you mean?" Jim said.

"To get into that class you have to be recommended by a high ranking official."

'Captain is really piling the work on me and I haven't even started.' Jim thought rubbing the back of his neck.

The seamstresses called them over and they received their uniforms. After putting on his uniform, Jim noticed how form fitting it was and missed his baggy clothes. He quickly hid the clothes he had just changed out of so that the seamstresses wouldn't try to dispose of them.

Joshua had put on his uniform as well and didn't look half bad. "Come on, Jim we have to join the rest of our class for the admission ceremony." As they left the room and were headed for the main hall they noticed a girl exiting the girl's uniform room. She was wearing the skirt and blazer commissioned for the girl's uniforms and was carrying her luggage case while looking around nervously. Her hair was tied back in a braid that she obviously had done herself and was partly covering her green eyes before she blow it out of her hair.

Joshua tapped Jim on the shoulder recalling him to his senses and leading him to the main hall.


	2. Meeting Sarah

Jim sat through the admission ceremony long enough to stay awake and receive his dorm number. Joshua and Jim had been separated during the ceremony due to them being in alphabetical order, so Jim was trying his best to find his room. All Jim knew was that he was on the right floor. Jim looked up from the paper with his room number to see the girl that had come out of the girl's uniform room, her untidy braid hanging down far past her shoulders.

She looked like she had lost something because she was searching frantically through her bag. There was something interesting about this girl. It was almost as if she wasn't supposed to be here at the academy. Jim approached her from behind and asked "What's the matter? Don't you have your room key?" The girl jumped a little bit and turned around to greet Jim with a smile. "Uh, no I actually lost my room key. I think it was when the crowd left the hall after the ceremony. Now I can't get in until my roommate gets here." She said trying not to seem discouraged as she fiddled with her braid.

Normally, Jim would have wished her luck and left without another word, but something compelled him to take action. "Just give me a minute, ok?" Jim responded with his crooked smile. The girl stepped back to let him through, while also shaking her hair in front of her face to hide her shy blush.

Jim patted his pocket, in turn waking the molten blob that was sleeping in it. Morph stirred and flew out of Jim's pocket, excited to be in new surroundings. The girl giggled when she saw the pink blob circle Jim and then incessantly lick his face. "Okay, Morph! Come on, we need your help." Jim said in between laughs. Morph chattered in agreement and turned into a lock pick. Jim moved the pick around in the lock until he heard a click.

"There, that should do it." Jim said, holding the door open for her.

"Thanks so much." The girl said entering her room.

Before she set down her stuff he turned around and smiled brightly at Jim.

"My name is Sarah, and again, I can't thank you enough."

"My names Jim and it's really no big deal."

"Umm, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Jim." Sarah said with a friendly tone.

Jim nodded and gave her a crooked smile and went off to find his room. It was just around the corner and Jim entered calmly. "Hey, look who it is." Joshua said. "Wow. Aren't we lucky? At least neither of us ended up with Tristan." Jim said, happy he ended up with someone he knows. "About that…" Joshua said rather awkwardly. "What is it?" Jim said regret he had even asked. "He's right across the hall from us." Joshua said wishing he had just kept quiet.

Jim sighed in disgust and threw his luggage on his bed. "Let me guess we have classes with him too." Jim said sitting down on his bed. "Sadly enough, yes, everyone has too take flight class as a requirement. He's taking galactic politics so we won't have to worry while we're in space tech. Then you will have to see him again in space combat after school. That sucks for you." Joshua said summing up their schedule.

Jim sighed trying to think of something else other than having that detestable guy in his classes. Morph was flying around the room, adapting to the new atmosphere. He started circling Jim who was leaning on the head of the bed. Morph stopped in front of Jim, turned into a mini version of Sarah, and started skipping around in the air. "Morph?" Jim interjected trying to catch the small figure of the girl.

"Who's that, Jim?" Joshua said, pointing to the skipping figure of Sarah that turned back into Morph. "It's no one, really." Jim said grabbing Morph and tickling him to keep him quiet. Morph escaped and parroted "Sarah! Sarah!" As Jim chased Morph around the room, Joshua said "Hey, that's the girl that we saw after we got our uniforms. You're lucky you were able to snag one of the few girls going to this academy."

"What do you mean 'one of the few?'?" Jim said as he stopped chasing the pink blob who then settled on his shoulder.

"What I mean is that not many girls are accepted to the academy, let alone apply to attend it. That's why every girl here is like a treasure that you only have a chance in a _lifetime_ of finding." Joshua said putting an emphasis on word lifetime.

Jim took the time to think about his statement, and was wondering what a girl like Sarah was doing at the academy. She seemed a little out of place and looked like someone who wouldn't last a day in space with the pirates and other such dangers. But hey, who was he to judge what she could do. Whatever her skills were he was sure he's find out what they were eventually.


	3. New Sails

Jim was rudely awakened the next morning by his fish-like roommate. "Jim, get out of bed and into your uniform or we'll be late for flight class." Jim waved Joshua away, but he did what he said. Jim unenthusiastically stepped into his form fitting uniform and grabbed the necessary things he needed for his classes.

As Jim and Joshua exited their dorm, Tristan and his roommate did the same. Jim glared at Tristan and Tristan simply smirked in response. "Well, well, well. The Montressor trash doesn't look too bad in the academy's uniform. Although that rat tail-like braid is still proof that you're not what you think you are. You're wasting you time here."

Jim was about to pull back to punch Tristan right in the mouth when Joshua interrupted him. "Shut up, Tristan! You know that Jim is more talented as a spacer than you are, or did you forget about the time that you took your long boat out for a test drive and crashed into a building." Joshua said in contempt.

Tristan sneered at Joshua who smiled back as though he hadn't said anything. "That event was merely caused by a malfunction in the longboat. Let's go." Tristan said, calling his roommate after him. Jim was glaring after Tristan, and then turned to look at Joshua who was smiling trying to act like the incident hadn't occurred.

"How is it that you know so much about Tristan, Josh?" Jim said, giving Joshua a new name. They were walking down the hall to flight class and Joshua was scratching his head thinking about how to respond. Joshua sighed determining that truth was the best option. "I was his neighbor when we were kids. We were friends at first but then he started acting like a jerk once he learned that I had been accepted to the academy a year ahead of him. That's when he went and crashed his long boat." Jim laughed a little bit and said "Serves him right."

They entered flight class and saw that most people were already sitting so they took their seats. Just then, a teacher with large lower canines protruding from his mouth that had a boar-like look about him entered the classroom. All the students seemed to be on alert as soon as the teacher came to the front of the class. "Students welcome to flight class. We are going to jump right in and start with flight training. Follow me out to the flight pad where you will pick your transportation."

The students left in single file out t the flying platform. The students all lined up in front of the many rows of long boats, jet packs, and way in the back completely neglected was a solitary solar surfer. Jim was waiting for his turn to take the solar surfer from the back where it had been gathering dust. Joshua went to take a jet pack and Tristan took a long boat. Sarah's name was called and Jim could see her inching nervously towards the solar surfer and then shake the idea away and run for a long boat.

Jim was called and he ran straight for the solar surfer. Its design was slightly different from the one he had to leave at home but the steering and engine were the same. As he was putting his feet in the footholds, the teacher approached him and said

"Mr. Hawkins,"

"Huh? Yes, Mr. Selster?"

"I was told by Captain Amelia that you are a skilled flyer, but are you sure you can pilot that solar surfer."

"Trust me. I can handle this."

The Students were paired off in groups of 4, since it would most likely cause a casualty if everyone was up in the air at the same time. Jim was paired, luckily, with Joshua and Sarah, and unfortunately, with Tristan. It was their groups turn to take off. The teacher signaled that they were ready and Jim shot off immediately. The other three were right behind him, but eventually he was leaving them all behind. He was flying all across the sky, happy to be back in his element.

The students down below on the flying platform were watching in amazement as Jim Preformed techniques he hadn't practiced on his solar surfer in a while. The cheers from the students angered Tristan, and he was plotting on ruining Jim's moment of stardom. Jim steadied his solar surfer and simply flew at a level for a moment. Jim looked down from his high level of elevation and saw Sarah in her long boat moving at an apprehensively slow pace. He swerved around and dove down to be level with Sarah.

"Hey, Sarah."

"Jim! Hey, you're amazing!"

"It's easy. I bet you could do it if you had the chance. You…seem to be having trouble."

"Well, yeah this is one of my first times flying. I'm still getting used to the controls." Sarah said, trying her best to make the long boat move forward a little faster.

Jim told Sarah to stop the long boat real quick, and she did as she was told. Jim quickly explained the controls. "Okay then, give it a try." Sarah nodded and before she knew it she was shooting forward with Jim right next to her. She was laughing in the exhilaration of it all and Jim joined her.

"See! You're a natural!" Jim said turning to an episode ago.

"Watch this!" Sarah said.

Sarah shot forward at and even faster speed and retracted the sail. The long boat spiraled upwards and Jim stayed stationary where he was. Sarah released her sail and flew back down to Jim.

"How was that?" Sarah said completely thrilled.

"Great job, Sarah!" Jim responded sharing he excitement.

Suddenly, a long boat flew past them throwing Sarah off balance. Sarah shrieked in surprise and Jim looked to see who it was that put her so close to being thrown off her long boat. Tristan was sitting in his long boats with a smug look on his face. "You've had your chance at fame Hawkins, but there is no way you will be taking it away from me!" Tristan said, not even knowing Sarah had been there.

"Tristan!" Jim yelled in contempt. Jim stepped on the switch that starts the engine and chased after Tristan, who was already trying to escape. The solar surfer chased the long boat all over in a deadly pursuit. When Jim was just about to catch up with Tristan, the teacher came between the two of them yelling a warning.

The two of them were taken down to the flying platform and Sarah was following right behind with a concerned look.


	4. Prodigy Student

Jim and Tristan were sitting in the principal's office receiving their punishment. "Honestly. I thought that two talented young cadets like you wouldn't stoop to such levels and on the first day too. As punishment you will clean the main hall at the end of the week." said the principal (no physical description use your imagination) in disappointment. "You're dismissed."

Jim and Tristan avoided each others gaze as the exited, holding their detention slips. Just outside the office, Sarah was leaning against the wall, obviously waiting to here the news from Jim.

"Jim! How did it go?" Sarah asked.

"Let's just say it could have been a lot worse." Jim responded.

"I'm sorry I wasn't any help in the situation." Sarah said remorsefully.

"It wasn't your fault. Are you okay? Tristan did almost throw you off your long boat." Jim said wanting to hear she was okay.

"Thanks for asking, Jim. I'm okay; I was able to steady myself before capsizing. By the way, thank you for teaching me to pilot the long boat or I would have stayed feet above the ground all class." Sarah said joyously.

"I couldn't just let you sit there. Plus, I think you have lots of talent as a flyer."

Jim was thinking about when he saw Sarah walking towards the solar surfer then walk away. "Sarah, are you sure that was your first time flying?" Jim said wanting to know more about this girl who seemed so out of place. Sarah seemed to be caught of guard and tried to think of something to say. "Yes. I had only been flying once before then, but it wasn't altogether enjoyable" She said truthfully. Jim decided to accept her answer for now, and ask her more later.

Sarah checked her watch. "Oh, Jim it's time for our next class!" Sarah said in slight alarm. "Really? Have we been here that long? Well, at least my tech class is next. What do you have next, Sarah?" Jim asked as they walked to class. "Navigation. It's the only thing I have any talent for since I can't build things , or fight, and I can't do politics because I'm no good at talking to people." Sarah explained slightly embarrassed. "I have to disagree with that. You're great to talk to." Jim commented with his usual crooked smile.

Sarah shook her hair again to cover up her blush that was getting hard to control. "Oh, well, I have to go! I-I'll see you later, Jim" Sarah ran into a nearby class room and then came back out and waved at Jim only to quickly disappear again. Jim chuckled and continued walking to his class.

Jim walked in to tech class, where a small remote control solar boat almost hit him. Joshua was sitting on the other side of the classroom and he saw Jim walk into class and dodge the solar boat. "Jim, over here!" Joshua said, waving him over. Jim walked over to his friend while dodging flying objects. "Josh, what's with everyone asking so casual? Everyone seemed so up-tight in our last class." "That's because this is more of a creative class. Here you get to make and repair whatever you want. You're graded on what you build or repair, how well it works, and how efficient it is."

"Anyway, instead of talking about class, let's talk about what happened with Sarah after she followed you to the principal's office." Joshua said teasingly nudging Jim. "What! Nothing happened! She just waited outside the office, and then we talked on the way to class." Jim said, a blush coming across his face. "That's all? Well, you still got pretty lucky. As soon as you and Tristan were dragged off she parked her long boat and ran after you. It was like she didn't even hear the rest of us calling her to come back."

The teacher for tech class rolled in on solar skates hovering, only a couple inches above the ground. Everyone became a little quieter when the teacher came to the front and banged her cyber hand down on the desk. The hand reminded Jim of Silver but that was pushed aside when the teacher said "Okay class, for today's lesson we'll be going to the workshop and fix a couple long boats that were pretty banged up by some pirates. Change into the work suits, bring your tools, and let's go!" The teacher skated out of the door to the side of the classroom leading to a room with about 15 damaged long boats.

"Pair up in groups of two and get to work on a long boat!" To no surprise, Jim and Joshua teamed up and started to work immediately. "Hey, Josh, hand me a wrench. The fuel tube came loose on the engine." Jim said from the end of the boat. Joshua tossed Jim the wrench and he caught, both of them not looking up from their work. The teacher saw their skill and made a note of it as she skated around.

By the end of the lesson most of the students were covered in grease, Joshua and Jim being in the worst state but having broad smiles on their faces. "Great job today, everyone! Jim, Joshua, you did exceptional work! Now hit the showers and go to where ever you need to be! I'll see you tomorrow." The teacher skated away and everyone went to clean off the grease.

After Jim cleaned up it was about noon and the lunch hall was open for the students. Joshua had already gone to get lunch after saying he'd meet Jim there. The lunch hall was crowded and Jim could tell he would have a hard time finding Joshua or Sarah. He got in line and ordered what he usually had back home. Jim was surprised to see the menu covered foods from galaxies he didn't even know.

At a table where there were empty seats at the end, Sarah was sitting rather alone. She took a bite out of whatever she was eating (don't want to go into specifics) and looked around. Finally, her eyes settled on Jim who was still wandering the lunch hall in search of his friends. Sarah stood up excitedly and yelled loud enough for Jim to hear, "Jim! Jim, over here!"

Jim heard Sarah calling and walked over to take a seat next to her. "Hey, Sarah, how was navigation class?" Jim asked, a happy tone still left over from tech class. "Good, but its navigation so it can only get so exciting. It sound's like tech class went well." Sarah responded back. "What makes you say that?" Jim asked a little confused. "Let's just say that rumors travel at light speed and right now you're the center of attention." Joshua said approaching the table. "Hey, Josh. Sarah, this is Joshua." Jim said introducing his friend as he sat down. "It's nice to meet you, Joshua." Sarah said shaking his webbed hand.

"Like wise. Jim says a lot about you, says you're in navigations, not bad. Anyway, it seems that someone is spreading the news about Jim's skills in his classes so far, and everyone's saying that he's the prodigy student." Joshua said. "Well, Mr. Prodigy, I am honored to be in your presence." Sarah said jokingly. The three of them were laughing and enjoying the moment; then there was a flash of light.

"So, Jim, how does it feel to be the top spacer in the academy?" said a student with a camera. Jim was blinded for a moment and only responded in a grunt of surprise. "Nothing to say, huh? Well that's fine; we'll take care of everything when we're ready to publish the paper. Here a copy for all of you!" said the student handing the three of them a copy of the photo he had just taken.

The photo was of the three of them sitting side-by-side and smiling broadly. The three of them looked at the photograph and Joshua said,

"As annoying as that was, the photo turned out great."

"Yeah, this isn't something I'll be getting rid of anytime soon." Jim said storing the precious photo in his pocket.


	5. Guns and Maps

Jim finished what was left of his lunch and went to join his final class for the day. He had been looking forward to space combat, but was dreading the fact that Tristan would be there as well.

Jim entered class and he noticed that everyone was wearing something different. "What? They don't have uniforms for this class?" Jim thought to himself. The teacher came up to Jim and said "Mr. Hawkins? If you're wondering what you are to wear, simply change into what you think is the easiest for you to move in."

Jim was delighted to hear this, and quickly pulled out the baggy clothes he missed wearing. After changing he took a moment to get back into the feeling they had. He noticed the subtle smell the clothes had. They smelled like his home back on Montressor; it made him feel nostalgic. Jim was brought back to thoughts of the Benbow and his mother.

Everyone was called together by the teacher, and Jim left his homeward memories in the back of his mind for the moment. As Jim tried to find an open area to see the teacher, he, unfortunately, ended up next to the person he really didn't want to see. Jim acted as though he didn't see him to avoid starting a conversation that would lead to violence. Sadly, this proved ineffective when Tristan said, "If it isn't the prodigy student. I guess that you will have to do as well in this class as you did in you're others if you want to keep your reputation." Tristan said arrogantly.

Jim took a deep breath and tried to speak in a way that didn't sound like he wanted to punch his face in. "I don't actually care about my reputation, which is just a title that everyone else gave me. I never accepted it."

Tristan didn't know what to say in response to this and they simply listened to the teacher's instructions which were "Okay, welcome to your first combat lesson. For today, we'll do target practice using real guns. Just as a warning, if your conduct in this class is deemed improper you will be removed from this class until further notice."

Jim seemed a little uneasy having Tristan holding a gun, but he knew that if he tried anything he'd shoot in retaliation. Each student was lined up in front of what looked like a shooting range, but Jim noticed something there weren't any targets.

Jim was about to ask the teacher where the targets were, when suddenly, many virtual targets depicting pirates started to move around the shooting range. Jim was a little startled by this, and almost pulled the trigger on the blaster. "These targets are set so that they will move, but won't fight back. Also, there will be virtual depictions of academy students including you moving within the same area as the targets. Be careful not to shoot them or it will be shown on your skill record."

"Everyone please step up to the line, warm-up you blasters, and wait to shoot." The students loaded they're guns and aimed. A whistle was blown and the lasers flew across the shooting range. Jim was simply finding a target and shooting; relying on his luck to hit the target. To his surprise, Tristan was steeling targets from Jim with great ease, and even though he knew he wasn't supposed to he hit a hologram depicting Jim. This took Jim focus off of looking for pirate targets and began shooting anything that moved.

Another whistle went off and the students stopped shooting. After then students lined up in front of the teacher, he began to read off the results of their first lesson. "Tristan, other than your one mistake you did a very good job. Jim, you started off well, but your aim seemed to take a turn for the worse. If you can't control your aim people will get hurt." the teacher said.

Jim intended to improve his aim otherwise Tristan wouldn't stop giving him this conceited look.

~The Next Day~

Believe it or not, Jim had homework! :D Jim was sitting in the library doing his technical knowledge homework. He put down the last answer and closed the book he had taken from the shelves and went to put it back. After finding the shelf he had taken it from and put the book back, Jim saw a light from around the corner. He went to turn of the light in case someone had left it on, but instead found Sarah curled up on the tall velvet chair with a book of maps in her lap.

Jim chuckled to himself and wondered how long she had been sleeping there. Sarah had a sleepy smile on her face, and Jim stood there and watched her for a moment. After pulling out of his trance, he took the book from her lap to see what page she had marked. It was a map of Montressor; another reminder of home. He closed the book and shook Sarah's shoulder to wake her up. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." Jim said jokingly. (Lol Disney cameo)

Sarah woke up rubbing her eyes adjusting to the light of the lamp. "What is it? Huh! Jim! How long have I been sitting here?" "Not sure, but I'm guessing it's been a while since you were asleep? Were you doing homework?" Jim asked holding up the book of maps. "Oh. No, I was just reading for enjoyment. I like to study maps." Sarah said, getting up from the chair. Her legs were still asleep and they gave way under her when she stood up. With a shriek of surprise she was falling to the floor. "Hey, watch out!" Jim said startled. He caught her just before she was out of reach, and was able to pull her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Jim said with a hint of concern.

"I'm okay. Sorry about this, Jim." She said in a slight chuckle.

"It's fine. I'm happy to help." Jim said smiling.

Just then, they noticed that Jim was still holding Sarah really close. They just looked at each other and a soft blushed formed across their faces, before Sarah stood up and step away chuckling nervously. Jim saw her brush her light-brown hair in front of her face, making it almost impossible to see her hazel-green eyes. Jim thought he might be blushing too so he turned around and said "So, uhh, where did you find this book? I'll help you put it back." He said turning around enough to give her a crooked smile.

Sarah turned to look at him and nodded with a smile.


	6. The Fight

Jim and Joshua had finished Tech class early that day, and Josh suggested they wait outside of navigations class for Sarah. Jim had Morph sleeping in his pocket today; even though the teachers had told Jim to keep him in his room. Sarah was coming out of navigations and saw Jim and Joshua waiting across the hall for her. She bounded towards them books in hand and with a welcoming smile on her face.

They were talking before getting ready to leave, when Tristan came from galactic politics which was next door. For the first time in all of their encounters, Tristan noticed that Sarah was there. What made him interested were her gentle features, the advanced navigation books she was carrying, and, most of all, that she was in the company of Jim Hawkins.

Just as they turned around, Tristan stopped them in their tracks. "Well, Jim. I never knew that you kept such lovely company. Although, I don't see why someone of her intellect sticks around with you." Tristan said, gesturing to her textbook. Sarah was giving him a quizzical look, as though she had never met him before. Jim was glaring at him as was Joshua.

Sarah noticed this and tugged on both of their jacket sleeves urging them to go by saying "Come guys if we don't hurry all the good stuff will be gone." The two boys looked at her pleading eyes and understood what she was trying to communicate. "We don't have time for this, Tristan." Jim said, signaling that it was time to leave.

Joshua looked at Tristan not thinking that this would be enough to make him give up. Despite this he followed Jim and turned to go to the lunch hall. Sarah sighed with relief, and turned to follow them as well. When her still messy braid swung as she pivoted, Tristan ensnared her by grabbing it in a clenched fist. Sarah felt sharp pain as her hair was pulled, and screamed and dropped her books.

Jim and Josh turned in shock to see Sarah clutching her head to reduce the pain, and Tristan trying to pull her back. "Now don't be that way. Why don't you leave those two and join people whose knowledge is equal with yours?" Tristan said. Before he could say another word, Joshua had brought him to the floor, forcing him to release Sarah. As soon as she was free, she ran to Jim's side and hid behind him, tears lining the edges of her eyes.

Morph had been stirred by all of the commotion and emerged from Jim's pocket to see what the matter was. Morph witnessed Joshua, who he had grown attached to, fighting with Tristan on the floor of the hall. Morph squealed as he raced off to find a teacher before Jim could catch him. Students had gathered around the fight and were cheering for their favored fighter.

Tristan, not being a good hand-to-hand fighter, was getting pummeled by Josh. Joshua who had been spurred by the mistreatment of his friend said to Tristan,

"I want you to know that if you ever do that to my friends, I'm not going to let you go without paying you back!"

"Josh! JOSH! Stop!"

Jim was pulling his friend off of Tristan, causing Joshua to calm down. Tristan propped himself up on his elbows and wiped the blood from his lip. Sarah was looking around and noticed that the students were starting to disperse. She found out why when Morph was flying around the corner with the principal right behind him. The four of them were looking at the principal as though he was going to expel them all right then end there.

"Don't look at me that way. Lucky for you Miss Sarah, you will not be punished?" the principal said. "What?" Sarah said confused. "This little blob explained to me exactly what happened. Mr. Cain (Josh), you will join Mr. Falling (Tristan) and Mr. Hawkins in their new punishment of washing the dishes in the lunch hall tonight. And Mr. Hawkins, even though you pet helped you in this endeavor, I'm afraid you still broke our promise of keeping it in your room and it will have to be sent home. I will see you 3 later then."

The principal left with that and Morph followed waving a sad good bye to his owner. Tristan, not wanting to stick around, stood up and left down the hall way. Jim rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Josh was helping Sarah pick up her books and she was still rubbing her head to ease the pain.

"Are you alright, Sarah? Josh asked.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Are you okay though? I didn't mean to get you in trouble." Sarah said remorsefully.

"It wasn't your fault. Tristan started it when he pulled your hair."

"I can't thank you enough, Joshua."

Sarah smiled at him as they stood up from their place on the floor and Josh smiled back. Jim called them over and they headed of for lunch.

~ With Tristan~

Tristan was walking down the hall, towards Jim and Joshua's room and he pulled Josh's room key from his pocket. As he stepped inside, he laughed to himself and started looking around. Then his eyes landed on the photo of the three friends. "Well, this looks valuable." He said. An evil smile creeping across his face.


	7. Detention

Their classes were finished for today, and Jim and Joshua were planning on getting some sleep before they had detention with Tristan. Josh flopped down on the bed and was close to falling asleep when he heard a sound of surprise come from Jim. He sat up and saw Jim searching around the room frantically for something.

"Where is it!" Jim said to himself in panic.

"What did you lose, Jim?" Joshua said.

"The picture!"

"What?"

"I don't know where it is! I normally keep it right under the lamp on the bedside table!"

"Calm down, Jim! Look no one else has the key to this room except us. I'm sure you just misplaced it. We'll find it; I promise." Joshua said putting a reassuring hand on his friends shoulder. "You're right. I'll find it later." Jim agreed with a relieved sigh.

The two of them slept in their beds until their alarms went of, and they made their way down to the lunch hall where they met the cooks and Tristan. "Okay then boys, take every dish in this kitchen and make them sparkle." Said the head cook.

Jim and Josh took care of the serving pots and kept their distance from Tristan. Jim moaned in disgust and said

"This is where all those years of working in the Benbow and that time as a cabin boy pays off."

"What ship did you work on?" Josh asked.

"The R.S. Legacy." Jim said uninterested.

"What were you doing on such a big ship?"

"Uhh. I'd tell you, but the captain said it was confidential."

Josh shrugged and continued scrubbing the pot with the rough brush. "Makes sense that you'd be skilled in such chores." Tristan said, drying some plates over the sink. It was obvious that he had never done work like this before. Jim took this insult out on the pot and scrubbed with all his might. Josh noticed something else altogether. Tristan's insult was lacking bite. It was almost as though he was hiding a greater scheme in all this.

Jim, wanting to go back to the room and search for the picture, finished early and was allowed to go back to his room. It was past 9:00 and Josh and Tristan had just finished their detention punishment. They were both walking in the same direction towards their dorms, but they stopped when Tristan set his plan snowballing. "Well 'Josh', I'd say that Hawkins seemed rather troubled by something. You wouldn't happen to know what it is, would you." Tristan said, as though he was proclaiming to the world that he stole the photo.

Joshua stopped and turned abruptly to face Tristan. He had an angry yet composed look on his face. Tristan didn't seem fazed by this and keeps his arrogant smile without flinching.

"Listen, Tristan! You know just how important that picture is to Jim, So you better give it back."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll give you a black eye to go with your cut lip!"

Joshua raised a fist to punch Tristan's eye, but before he even came near him Tristan pulled out a small device and threw it at Josh. The device attached itself to him, and Joshua lost all strength in his body. He fell to the ground face down, and looked up at Tristan with a livid look on his face. "Fascinating isn't it? Glad I brought it with me before coming here. Now I can pay you back for humiliating me when you got your acceptance to the academy before me. My family never looked at me the same again."

Tristan kicked Joshua in the stomach and Joshua let out a gasp as the air was forced out of him. Tristan grabbed Joshua by his collar and lifted him up to his eye level. He gave him a hard punch to the face which cut his lip to match his own. "How does it feel to be the one in pain?" Tristan continued to beat Joshua until he was covered in bruises.

Joshua was propped up against the wall of the hallway and Tristan detached the paralyzing device from his shirt. "Here you go. I got what I wanted, so you can have your friend's picture back." Tristan took the photo from his back pocket and threw it at Joshua. "I'll see you tomorrow." Tristan walked back to his dorm room, leaving Joshua leaning limply against the wall.

Josh took the picture from his lap and stood up using the wall as support. He limped back to the room where Jim was waiting for his friend to return. During the fight Tristan returned Joshua's room key to his pocket, and he used it to enter the comfort of his room.

Jim heard the door creak open and turned to see Josh limp in with a smile on his face. "Josh what happened?" Jim said, rushing over to help his injured friend. "It's was nothing. By the way, I got your picture back from Tristan." He said holding up the slightly bent photo. "What! Is he the one that did this?" Jim said with an upset tone. Joshua laid down on the bed and said "Its fine. Me and him are even. Now let me get some sleep." With that, the two of them went to bed and they woke up the next day with nothing but the cut on Josh's lip to remind them of what happened.


	8. Talk of Home and the Second Fight

After Joshua's fight with Tristan, Sarah was able to help with lowering the swelling of his bruises. Sarah also used the old steak trick to make his black eye not look so purple. She was surprised to hear that Tristan would do something like that to Jim and Joshua just because he was threatened by them. But then she took it back considering it was Tristan. During his healing, Joshua, Jim, & Sarah got the chance to talk a little more. Jim finally pointed out to Sarah that se had the same name as his mother; Sarah didn't know how to respond to that.

Joshua lived on a planet that was almost completely covered in water with only 5 large islands, before moving to the planet Tristan lived on 3 years ago. Jim told them a little bit about Montressor and his life before the academy. While Sarah was taking notes for geographic navigation Jim and Joshua ask her about where she was from and what happened before coming to the academy.

Sarah tapped her pencil on the edge of her notebook, and moved to the edge of Jim's bed. (She was hanging out in their dorm) "I'm from a planet called Ander. There's not much to look at since it's a small planet, but its home." She said happily. "It's almost completely covered in land except a couple lakes. I stayed at home read most of the time since there weren't many kids my age around. My dad is a first mate on a ship and my mom is a map maker. My dad tried to teach me to fly once, but I'll tell you that story another time." She said.

"Come on! We've been trying to get that story out of you since that our second day!" Josh complained.

"Yeah, it's time you told us the big secret." Jim said.

"Nope. You have to wait until I feel like telling you." She said winking.

After that, the days passed and not much happed unless you count the day that Jim's combat class changed its lesson plan. Jim went into combat class thinking that they were going to blaster training again. He was surprised to find that the shooting range was closed, and square made of tape had been laid out on the carpet portion of the room.

Jim sat down on the carpet with the other students and the teacher stood in the middle of the square. "I decided that you all had improved in your blaster training and that it is time to move on to hand-to-hand combat. You won't always have a weapon on you, so you need to know how to defend yourself. We would normally start with defensive combat, but since you have your survival trip coming up we'll start with offensive combat."

Everyone was taught the basics of offensive combat; the people who were learning fast (Jim and others) were taught more advanced techniques. Jim was wondering when exactly he was going to use these techniques, but then the teacher called them together for the last part of their lesson.

"Everyone has been paired with a partner, and each of you is to try and beat your partner. Get to it!" the teacher said. Jim looked at the list and was at first upset with his partner. Then it dawned on him what an opportunity it presented him with. He smiled to himself. Jim and Tristan were called to the square on the floor after the other groups fought in front of the class.

Tristan wasn't smiling his normal arrogant smile, and Jim knew why. Tristan didn't have nearly the same skills as Jim had in hand-to-hand combat and he knew that he was in for it. The whistle blew and they started.

Tristan tried to gain the upper hand by hitting Jim first, but he had far less experience in fighting than Jim did. Jim dodged his punch easily and grabbed him by the wrist to flip him over his back. Tristan got up from the floor and charged at Jim again and tried to kick him in the stomach.

Jim ran to the other side causing Tristan to fall to the ground from shifting his weight. When he stood up to charge again, Tristan didn't get a chance because Jim had punched him in the jaw. Tristan didn't falter and stood his ground. Jim gave him a hard kick to the diaphragm and the air escaped Tristan like a balloon that popped.

Tristan was on his knees trying to catch his breath. The teacher was about to stop the practice match, but Tristan stood up again to continue. Jim admired his resolve, but that wasn't going to lessen his beating because of it. He gave Tristan a quick punch to the stomach. "That was for Sarah!" Jim said to Tristan. Then he punched him in the face. "And that one's for Josh!" Tristan tried to stand tall, but fell to the ground and passed out.

Tristan was breathing heavily not having fought so hard in his life. "Don't mess with my friends or I hit you harder next time." The other students dragged Tristan out of the square on the floor and leaned him against the wall. Jim went to get a drink of water and the teacher walked up to him saying, "Mr. Hawkins, I can see you are a skilled fighter and your aim has improved too. If you keep this up and keep flying then you may be able to graduate from the academy by the end of this year.

Jim was delighted to hear this. If he could graduate this year, he could return to his family on Montressor and would start working on a ship and work his way up to captain. There was one thing that was lingering on his mind though. If he graduated this year would his friends be able to follow him?


	9. Leaving the Academy

It was the last 9 days of their time at the academy, (Time flies am I right? We're only in the 9th chapter XD) and it was time for the final test of the year. Don't go and think this is an ordinary pencil & paper test CAUSE IT ISN'T! All of the students were gathered in the hall and all of the teachers were in the front of them; ready to give them their final test.

"Students, the staff would like to congratulate you all on making it this far. Now it's time to see which of you will be graduating this year and which of you will be staying for another year." said the principal. "It's time for your survival test! You will be put in groups of three depending on who you work best with. Each group will have a navigator, a mechanic, and a student in the combat class."

"This group will be put on a small uninhabited planet for the last week of your enrollment here. If your group manages to keep a stable lifestyle over the course of the week then you will all graduate!" Jim heard this and was happy that either way he would get to stick around with his friends. "The groups that you have been submitted to are posted outside the hall on the billboard and so is the list of the supplies you will need. You have today to prepare and then you leave tomorrow. Now go get ready!"

With that all the students filed out to see their groups and get the list of supplies. After everyone had seen their groups and gotten a list of supplies, they returned to their dorms to prepare.

"So we only have 8 days left then we find out if it's over not." Jim said.

"Yeah. Time really seemed to really fly by."

"Anyway, according to the list the mechanic of our group, that's you Josh, can bring materials to making anything that we might need to build something. What do you plan on bring?"

Joshua held up the material used to make a solar sail and a small engine. Jim smiled and said,

"I guess that means we'll have a way of getting around out little planet, Where ever it is."

"Yeah, as soon as we build it. We were lucky to get paired with Sarah, but then I guess it's not a surprise. Where is she anyway?" Josh asked.

"She already finished packing so she went to the library to find out as much as possible about the planet we're being put on. Once we're done we'll meet up with her in the library."

They headed for the library and found Sarah in here normal seat hidden behind the geography books.

"Hey, Sarah. What did you find out?" Jim asked.

"Hey, guys. I didn't find out much. All there is to know is that it's small, has lots of trees, and varying levels of elevation." She stated, standing up from her chair.

"That's our girl! We're so lucky to have you; you navigational genius!" Joshua said, putting his arm over her shoulder.

Sarah laughed and said, "Flatter will get you everywhere!" "Okay, come on. We need to go over our supplies one more time before we leave tomorrow. I'm glad we don't have to wear our uniforms during this test. I always hated this uniform." Jim said.

With this, the three of them returned to there dorms and got some rest for what would be their last week at the academy this year.

Jim woke up and changed into his favorite outfit from his home on Montressor. Joshua was wearing a pair of loose fitting pants and a long sleeve blue tunic-like top. They made their way out of the main hall where students were all waiting in groups of three. Everyone was chatting or looking up at the ship Jim recognized as the R.S. Legacy. Jim pointed this out to his friends, and they smiled up to the ship that would be taking them to their temporary 'home.' They said this as an inside joke.

As everyone was boarding the ship, Jim noticed a locket hanging around Sarah's neck that looked like the one his mother had. "Sarah, where did you get that locket? I don't remember you having it before." Jim asked. "Oh, my parents sent it to me just the other day. They wanted me to save some memories from my last couple days here." She said holding up the small gold locket.

She held down a small button on the top of locket and it recorded a short image of Jim and Joshua setting their luggage down on the deck and smiling at her. Sarah let g of the button and the recording stopped. "Memory saved!" she said with a wink.

The teachers wished the students luck and they were off!


	10. Arriving 'Home'

Jim, Sarah, and Josh were wandering about the ship that was piloted by Captain Amelia, and watched their classmates be let off onto their tiny planets where they would live for a week. They hand a small celebration as they saw Tristan leave the boat, and hoped that somehow he would get eaten by some wild animal during his stay. With his skills, which were almost none, it wasn't impossible.

While Sarah was recording more images on her locket, she noticed that they were approaching their planet. "Guys we're here!" she called them to starboard and they rushed over. They admired the small planet that would be their temporary home as though it were theirs and theirs alone.

Captain Amelia wished them luck as their long boat took them down to the planet's surface. After they landed, the only way they could get back to the academy was to take the longboat and push the button. The boat was set to take them directly to the academy and they would have no control over the boat. Thanks to Joshua they would be able to fly around their small planet without any terrain problems. They found a clearing that was flat in its landscape and where the three of them would set up their camp.

Joshua and Jim had one big tent set up and Sarah had a tent to her self. She had trouble working her way around the automatic controls, so Joshua set up the tent for her. For their first day they had a lunch packed (kind of like school only no teachers and no lunch lady giving you food. Oh and don't forget the fact that you are all alone besides 2 other people. XD)

After they finished eating they finished unpacking. Josh got his building materials out of the long boat and said,

"Hey, Jim why don't we get started?"

"Sure. Hey, Sarah. Want to come help us with building the solar surfer?"

Sarah poked her head out of her tent with a big smile on her face. "You mean it? You want me to help you build it?" She said as though it were a miracle that they wanted her to help. "Of course. We couldn't do it without you. You are going to use it to fly around and find out what you can about where to find food right?" Josh said. "Yeah, just wait a sec." Sarah said. She zipped up her tent and ran over to join them, her braid chasing her.

She sat down next to Jim and helped him fix up the small engine while Josh went and found a board to use for the solar surfer. Sarah's braid was even messier than normal today, and while she was tightening a bolt on a gear, it got caught in it. She tried to hold back an 'ow', but Jim could see the look on her face and her hair in the engine.

Jim chuckled. "It's not funny! It hurts!" She said trying to get her braid out. "You need some help?" Jim asked sarcastically. He separated her hair from the machinery and she thanked him. Jim held her braid in his hand for a moment, and then started to unbraid the untidy mess. "What are you doing?" Sarah asked quizzically. "If you don't braid it properly it will get stuck again. Trust me, I have experience." Jim said, pointing to his own braid.

Sarah gave him a smile of approval and turned to allow him to braid it. He went through the rhythmic movements of braiding. As he did so, Jim took the time to notice the sun caught in her milk-chocolate hair, and how soft it was. Before Jim knew it, he was done and her hair looked better than it ever did. He let go of her hair and she took it in front of her so she could see it. Sarah smiled in satisfaction and said, "Thanks Jim. Now we match."

They finished the solar surfer by sundown and it was time to go to bed. Sarah bid her two friends good night as she entered her tent, and the boys laid in their tent. "So then, you guys are matching now, huh?" Josh said nudging him teasingly. "Yeah, so what?" Jim said turning over to hide his blush. Joshua laughed at Jim and said it was nothing.

It was morning now, and after getting a good night sleep, Jim and Joshua were up and atom. They went out in search of breakfast and found some wild fruit that looked a lot like perps. They brought them back to camp, and chopped them up. "Hey, Sarah you up yet?" Josh called towards her tent. The tent came unzipped and Sarah stepped out. She didn't look particularly different today, but it's what she was wearing that surprised her 2 partners.

She was wearing a small yellow dress. It was very cute and she made it even more so, but it was obviously not fit for this test they were going through. Jim was hiding his blush and when it passed he said "Um Sarah I don't think that is what you should be wearing on a test like this." Sarah walked over to join them and said "I know, but I never packed any clothes for a survival test." "So, are you ready for your expedition today?" Josh asked her. "Yep. As soon as we finish breakfast I'm heading out." She said eating her portion of the fruit.

Sarah headed over to the solar surfer and tried to get on, but kept getting thrown off balance. Jim saw this and came over to help her on. He lifted her onto the solar surfer and helped her get her footing right. "Are you sure you don't want one of us to come with you?" Jim asked. "I'll be fine. I've flown one of these before. If I feel like it I'll tell you about it later." She said tauntingly. Before Jim could say anything, Sarah shot off through the dense forest.


	11. Lost and Found

The night after Sarah had left to scout the planet, there was a storm. Jim and Joshua had huddled down in their tent and even then they could tell it was bad outside. They hoped that Sarah had found some form of shelter or had made it back without their noticing.

The next morning, Jim and Joshua came out and didn't see Sarah or the solar surfer. Josh reassured Jim that she would be back before sun down. During their wait, they set up a fire pit and got some logs set up around it to make some seats. It was already getting late and Sarah still hadn't returned. "The suns almost down. She should be back already." Jim said concerned. "Let's go look for her." Josh suggested.

The two of them started their search a good distance off from their camp and were still unsuccessful in finding her. They were getting tense now that the sun was down, and got out some electric lights. They started to run and look around frantically. They called her name over and over, but never got any response.

It was their forth day on this planet, and had Jim and Joshua fell asleep in the middle of the forest and woke up with sore necks. They go up and resumed their search for another four hours. On their fifth hour of searching, they came across something that let them know she was nearby, but it also let them know that something had gone wrong. They found the solar surfer, crashed against a tree.

A wave of shock and concern shot through them and they called out her name in a panic. As the two of them came close to a cliff and were getting ready to turn back to search on the other side of the dense forest, Jim heard a voice from over the cliff.

"Jim come on we have to keep looking! Jim?" Josh was wondering what his friend was doing running back to the cliff. "Sarah?" Jim called over the cliff. "Jim! Joshua! Thank God!" Sarah responded. She was sitting on a ledge about 15 feet down the cliff face. "Sarah, are you alright?" Josh asked. "I'm okay. I tried climbing back up the cliff, but I slipped and I cut my hands on the rock." She said revealing her bloody palms. Jim looked down at her delicate hands that were now scared on the palms. "Don't worry. We'll get you back up here in no time!" Jim said.

Jim tried to grab her hands from where he was laying on the edge of the cliff, but she was far out of his reach. "Josh I need you to grab my ankles and lower me down a bit." Jim said. "Okay." Joshua grabbed Jim by the ankles of his boots and slowly lowered him down to take hold of Sarah's hands. Jim tried to pull her pull up by her hands but let her go when she hissed in pain.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. Let's try again." Jim said. Jim grabbed Sarah by her wrists and when she didn't protest in pain, he called up to Josh to pull them up. Josh dug his heels into the ground and walked backwards to pull them back to the surface. Once Sarah and Jim were safely on the top, Sarah leaned up against a tree and relaxed for the first time in what seemed like hours.

The two boys looked at their worse for wear friend and noticed what horrible shape she was in. She had bruises all over, her hair was matted, soaked, coated in mud, and her dress was tearing at the seams. "Can you get up?" Jim asked. "I think." Sarah said. She stood up and fluttered a bit before regaining her balance.

Jim and Joshua walked her back to camp and acted as her crutches. Seeing as how all the clothes Sarah had packed weren't suitable for this trip, Jim and Josh were willing to share their clothes with her. Jim set the fire and with the information Joshua got from Sarah, they were about to find food and water. Just as dinner was finishing, Sarah came out of her tent wearing one of Josh's outfits. They were baggy but she found them comfortable and thanked him for sharing it.

After they all got their food Jim had to know "Sarah, how did you end up at the bottom of that cliff?" "It was on the night of the storm. I was trying to get back to camp as soon as possible, in my haste, I didn't notice a tree that was in my way. I swerved to try and avoid it, but the back end of the board hit it and sent me flying. I rolled across the ground until I rolled off the cliff and landed on that ledge. I tried climbing back up, but like I said, I cut my hands." She said, revealing her now bandaged hands.

"I slept there on the ledge until I was woken up by you guys calling for me. Now here we are." Sarah finished. The two of them said they were sorry for not finding her sooner. Sarah said it wasn't necessary. Then she said "Since we're telling stories, I guess it's time for me to tell you about my first flying lesson."


	12. Gone

"What? Are you serious this time?" Josh said, having waited to hear this. "Yep, I did promise I'd tell you eventually. So gather your story time goodies, cause it's time to reveal the secret of my first time flying." Sarah said. Jim and Josh grabbed a bowl and sat down across from her.

"Okay, it was about…2 years ago I think. My father was a captain and he had brought back a birthday present for me; a solar surfer. It was smaller than the one we have here, but it was just as fast, and like I am now I was just as off balanced." She started.

"I was extremely excited to fly for the first time! All of my friends already knew how to fly and had longboats and everything. I was behind because my mother didn't know the first thing about flying but she taught me everything she knew about maps and space, and my father was always off somewhere on his ship. Anyway, when he finally came back he taught me as much as possible about flying before he had to leave again."

"After he left, I started teaching myself to fly by watching some of my friends. I also flew in circles around my house, but only a couple feet of the ground." Sarah said. "Hmm, sounds a lot like your first day of flying class." Josh said jokingly. "Very funny. After practicing for about 7 months, I decided to go to the highways and try flying for real. I was having a great time."

"I was really just enjoying the breeze and I wasn't paying attention to the traffic around me. I got hurt kind of like how I ended up tonight only much…much worse. I was thrown off my solar surfer when another vehicle was heading for me. The solar surfer was destroyed on impact, and I was hit as well. I was falling quite a distance before and emergency ambulance was able to catch me." The two boys set down their bowls and listened attentively. "So what happened?" Jim asked.

"Well, the next thing I knew, my father was standing next to my hospital bed. I had suffered a serious wound to the head had been bleeding profusely. I was lucky I even survived that day. And that, my friends, is the story of my first flying lesson. I know it's not much but there it is." Sarah said finishing her story. The boys were silent for only a few seconds before Jim said "I guess history repeated itself tonight, huh?"

The three of them all laughed at this remark until the humor died off. They all looked up at this one particularly bright star. The fact that it was night time made them realize how late it was. Each of them entered their tents and went to sleep…except for Jim. He had remembered something that Delbert had said once. Hadn't he once said that a star shines it's brightest when it's about to die.

The next morning, the three of them came out of their tents and noticed that the sky seemed a bit darker today. They didn't see it as anything bad at the time so they continued with their day. Sarah was still sore from her crash, so she said she'd work on fixing the engine on the solar surfer. Jim and Joshua went to search for food and water. They were on the other side of their small planet and had their arms full of wild plants.

"Do you think we have enough?" Jim asked. "Yeah, I-!" Suddenly, an ear splitting explosion came from no where. The planet was shaking and the two of them dropped what they were doing. Sarah was terrified and was calling for her two friends. Sarah, not being able to keep her balance on the shaking ground she was standing on, fell to her knees. She looked up and saw something horrifying, the star that they had all admired the night before had died and was forming a black hole.

"Sarah!" Jim called as they entered the clearing. "Jim! Joshua!" Sarah said in a trembling voice. She got up from the ground and ran to her friends. She clutched Jim's shirt in fear and hid her face in his chest. "Jim, look!" Josh said, pointing up to the black hole that was forming. Jim had seen this before on the . Legacy and he knew if they wanted to get out of there alive they'd have to leave now.

"Get your things in the longboat now!" Jim said. Sarah and Joshua did as Jim said, and put everything in the boat. The black hole was getting bigger and Jim could tell that they were getting pulled in. "Come on get in!" Jim said. Josh jumped in over the side of the longboat and Jim lifted Sarah in. Jim hit the engine's starter, but the engine didn't take off immediately like he thought it would.

"Come on! Go!" Jim said, yelling at the engine. As Sarah was sitting there, she recalled something she had left in the tents that they were leaving behind… the locket. Jim was still fighting with the engine when he hard something hit the ground. "Sarah, come back!" Josh called. "Sarah!"

Sarah ran into the tent and dug through the pile of things she was leaving behind. Finally, she found the small gold locket and ran back towards the longboat. "Sarah, come on!" Jim called. The engine was ready and just as it took of Sarah leaped for her life and grabbed the edge. For a moment, they all though they were okay, but due tot he fact that Sarah's hands were still healing she couldn't hold on. After the longboat was far off the ground Sarah lost her grip. Jim, in an act of desperation reached out to grab her hand, but… "SARAH!" Her hand slipped right through his fingers.

Sarah hit the ground of the planet they were leaving and looked up at Jim with tears in her eyes. Jim was staring back at her when Josh pulled his shirt forcing him to sit down in the boat. Josh yelled "Jim, don't!" Jim realized then that he was making his way to jump off the boat and go back for Sarah.

They both looked back, and could see Sarah getting on the solar surfer. "Did she fix it!" Josh asked. "I don't know!" Jim said. Sarah was stepping on the start-up for the solar surfer, and though it took her a couple times, the engine started and she was flying towards them. "She's going to make it!" Jim said with new hope. She was getting closer and they could see the hopeful smile on her face.

It seemed as though she would make it, but we all know she had no skills in machinerary and the engine didn't work long enough to save her. The engine gave off a small explosion and Sarah screamed as she fell into the black hole. "NOOO!" Jim yelled. Tears were pouring from his eyes, and Josh had turned away not wanting to watch Sarah disappear.

She was clinging to the solar surfer and that was the last they saw of her.


	13. Sadness and Relief

Jim and Joshua were sitting in their longboat in silence as it piloted them back to the academy. They couldn't shake the feeling that everything had ended inside that black hole.

Two teachers were waiting on flight platform for incoming students, when they saw Jim and Joshua's longboat landed. They walked over to greet the three returning students, but were suddenly concerned when they only saw two. Jim and Josh got out of the boat and looked at the teachers.

"Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Cain. What was the emergency! Where is Miss Reigns (Sarah)!" Said the teacher. Jim and Josh looked at each other and then at their teachers with expressions of hopelessness.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

A week after all the students had returned and all those who had qualified had graduated, a funeral for Sarah was held on her home planet, Ander. Teachers, students, and parents attended, including Jim and Joshua's families. Since there was no body, they simply used an empty coffin and buried that.

Jim saw Sarah's parents, they looked miserable. He took the time to build up the courage to approach them. They saw Jim walk towards them. He looked at them apologetically and said "I'm sorry. It's my fault that this all happened. I should have kept an eye on her." Jim hung his head low. Sarah's mom moved towards Jim and lifted his head. "Thank you…for being her friend."

Jim couldn't believe it. She wasn't angry at him in the least; even though he was the one who failed to catch her when she fell, and he didn't stay with her to fix the solar surfer that would have saved her.

Sarah's parents left to go back home and Jim took a deep sigh. Jim heard someone walking up from behind, but didn't turn to see who it was. He didn't need to once he said, "I can see why you would be unwilling to speak to them. I wouldn't be surprised if they blame you for what happened to her. They're probably just didn't say anything because there's all these people around."

"It's really a shame, she was a beautiful girl." Tristan said. Jim turned and gave him a mixed expression of anger and despair. Even now, Tristan didn't have any emotions other than his own pride. "Go crawl into a grave, Tristan. Sarah's corpse, where ever it ended up, has more heart than you ever could." Jim walked to his mother's side as she was standing in front of the girl's grave. Jim put his hand on her shoulder and said "Let's go home."

"I'll be coming with you." Joshua said.

"But Josh, what about finding a ship to join?" Jim said.

"It's okay. I can always join a ship when I feel like it, but right now I'm still a little shaken up to be flying again."

"You're welcome with us anytime, Joshua." Said Jim's mom.

Jim and Joshua went back to the Benbow inn; where they had a celebration for Jim and Joshua graduating in one year. Joshua had a good time despite the fact that his friend had died recently. He even found a nice girl while dancing. Jim on the other hand didn't have as good a time. He did dance a little and he was glad that he was able to see his other friends there, but he could let go of the self inflicted burden on his shoulders.

Over the next two months, Jim never rode his sola surfer and worked hard in the Benbow, and Joshua worked in a mechanic's garage. Jim and Josh got many letters requesting their help on ships for special expeditions, but they turned them all down. That is until that one day that Jim was sitting by the window and messing with the halo-shades. Just as Jim hade switched them to the tropical setting, Joshua burst in with a half opened letter from the Galactic Expeditions Guild.

"Jim! Jim!" Josh said breathlessly elated.

"J-Josh? What happened? Did Lexy (the girl Josh met at the party) ask you out or something?" Jim said.

"No! Jim…they found her! They found, Sarah!"


	14. The Worm Hole

Joshua, if you recall, came in and told Jim some news about their friend Sarah who was supposedly dead. She had been located beyond the black hole which turned out to be a worm hole. .

At this point, Jim is not sure whether his friend is spouting nonsense or if he was dreaming. "What?" Jim responded not knowing how to feel. "Look! Read the letter!" Joshua said handing it to him. Jim took the letter and began reading. The letter read…

Mr. Jim Hawkins and Mr. Joshua Cain,

We noticed that you have been declining all of our requests to join a ship, but we suspect that you will not decline our following offer. We would like to inform you of a discovery that fascinated us all here at our research lab. The 'black hole' that Miss Sarah Reigns disappeared into two months ago, turned out to be a worm hole. Sarah is alive and well, but was not pin pointed as far as her location goes. What we do know is that the worm hole is still there and with enough luck we can send someone in after her to bring her back. Since you know her best we would like to send the two of you out to find her. Give us your reply as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

The Galactic Expeditions Guild

This news was more than what Jim and Josh could hope for. Before they could think they found themselves packing for the trip. They wanted to leave immediately, but they weren't scheduled to leave for 2 days. Jim spent the next few days flying his solar surfer; thinking about the expedition to bring Sarah back. He hadn't stepped onto his solar surfer since they got back, so he spent his time getting used to it again.

Jim thought about what was on the other side of the worm hole, and where it had taken Sarah? Would they be able to get back once they went in or would they be stuck there? Even tough these questions worried the two of them they did not hesitate when the small ship came to pick them up. Jim and Joshua said good-bye to Mrs. Hawkins and they were off.

The two of them didn't dare go below deck, even though they wouldn't reach the worm hole until early morning. Jim was sitting on the rope ladder leading up to the riggings and starring off into the etherium. Josh was leaning against the railing and staring off just like Jim. Then he cut in saying,

"Do you think she's changed?"

"Hm?" Jim said pulling out of deep thought.

"We haven't seen her for two months and she's been in a different dimension. She must have changed." Josh said.

"No. I don't think so. Sarah will always be Sarah."

"Yeah, your right. Come on, we should get some sleep."

The two of them were awakened by a shrill whistle for the upper deck. For a moment, Jim thought it was his alarm and was planning on shooting at it, but when he was fully awake he realized what the whistle meant. Jim jumped out of his hanging bed and ran over to Josh who was covering his face in the bed sheets. "Josh! Joshua, come on we're here!" Jim said over turning Josh's bed.

Josh fell to the ground with a thud, but was off the ground as soon as he had it hit. They quickly packed their things and raced to the deck! Captain Amelia was waiting for them by the long boats, ready to see them off. "I'm sure that you are both ready?" she said. "As we'll ever be." Jim said.

Jim and Josh loaded each of their suitcases onto the long boat and got in. "Good luck to you boys." Captain Amelia said saluting them; they saluted back to her. Jim took the controls and flew the longboat straight for the worm hole.

As they entered it became suddenly dark, and there was a cold, strong wind blowing against them. They started to spiral in the longboat and Josh had to help Jim keep control. They were about to fall out when they finally reached the end of the worm hole.

They were met by a bright light and they regained control of the longboat. They were flying a couple hundred feet above the ground. "Where are we?" Jim said. Josh was observing the landscape like he knew it. "I know where we are. We're in Saldinar." Josh replied. "What! Isn't that the planet that Tristan's noblemen parents rule!" Jim said surprised.

Josh was looking over the landscape and saw what looked like a crater located right next to a lake. "Jim, over there!" Josh said, pointing to what he had seen. Jim navigated the long boat down to the center of the crater. When they stepped out of the long boat, they saw bits and pieces of a crashed solar surfer. "This must have been where she crash landed." Jim said.

As Jim bent down to grab a piece of a solar sail, he heard a splash. Jim turned and ran to the lakes edge, seeing Josh diving to the bottom. With the convenient use of his webbed hands and fish-like lungs, Josh was able to pick up the small shining object he had seen at the bottom of the lake. Josh resurfaced clasping the object hard in his hand.

"Josh what were u doing down there!" Jim asked, kneeling at the lake's edge. Josh lifted his fist to Jim's face and let a rusted golden object dangle from a damaged chain. In even more surprise than before, Jim said, "Th-that's Sarah's locket!"

"Now we know she's here…"


	15. Forgotten?

Jim took the locket from Josh as he climbed out of the lake. Jim was filled with anticipation, but was also worried that the memories had been destroyed while sitting in the lake. He tried to force open the locket that held the memories that Sarah had recorded 2 long months ago, but as much as he tried the latch had rusted shut. Despite this, Jim continued to struggle with the lock, but to no avail. Josh said "It won't work. It's so badly rusted that you'd have to take it in to a jeweler to have it fixed. Don't worry; the recordings should still be in tact."

Jim quit his struggle and simply held the precious charm in his hand; thinking about what memories might still be in there. "We should start looking for her." Jim said getting up quickly in his eagerness and grabbing his things. "Why so eager all of a sudden?" Josh said with a slight chuckle, grabbing some dry clothes to change into. "Just knowing that she's really here and that it wasn't a miscalculation gives me hope. That's all." Jim said as Josh changed behind some nearby trees. Jim, being impatient at this moment, kept nagged Josh to move faster, as if Sarah was suddenly going to board a ship and leave.

They made their way to town after hiding the longboat behind a group of thick bushes. Once they entered the streets, they knew at once that finding Sarah would be an endeavor. It was incredibly lively and was so crowded that Jim and Josh got separated twice before even stepping onto the crowd. After having found each other amongst the sea of people, they found an inn to sit down in.

"If she is here there's no way we are going to find her in that crowd." Josh said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Don't say that. We just need to find someone who can help us out. Maybe someone who's seen her." Jim said anxiously, leaning in his chair.

"Are you looking for someone?" said a friendly and familiar voice from behind.

Jim and Josh turned to see who had spoken out to them but were in such surprise that they couldn't believe who it was. They were looking at a boy of about 18 or 19 years old, he was carrying dishes that he had just picked up from a table behind them, he had webbed fingers, and **red** fins for hair. Josh looked him over and once realizing just who this person was, quickly looked down to his food. The boy said again "Are you looking for someone?"

"Umm…yeah we're looking for a girl. She's a friend of ours." Jim responded, still trying to discern who he was looking at, and slightly dumbfounded. "Do you think you could show me what she looks like or just tell me maybe?" the boy said politely. Jim took the picture of Sarah, Josh and himself, out of his luggage. He looked at it like the dear treasure it was before giving it to the boy to examine.

The boy looked at the picture for only an instant and his face lit up. "So, you guys are friends of Sarah's then?" Jim and Josh jumped in a thrill at the mention of her name. "Yes! Do you know her!" Josh asked, not able to contain his joy. "Of course I know her, although I've never seen her with hair that long.", Said the boy. "What?" Jim said rather confused. "Well, in the two months that she's been here she's never had hair that long. First time I saw her, her hair looked a lot like a guy's. It's a little longer now though" said the red finned boy.

"Josh! Bring those dishes in here and get to the mechanic's garage. You have a customer over there!" said a cook from inside the kitchen. "I'm coming. I gotta go. Well, I hope I helped you guys." said red-haired Josh. He walked into the kitchen and left out the back door. Jim looked at Josh quizzically and Josh was looking away. Jim said "Josh…was that…?" "Yes it was me ok! When I was accepted to the academy I dyed my fins green ok! They used to be red." Josh responded in a rushed voice.

"If that was you…he sure looked a bit older. At least three years older." Jim said in an analyzing voice. "Jim, I think we may be in an alternate reality." Josh said in a rushed voice. "What?" Jim said looking at his friend skeptically. "Think about it. We are in a reality where I never went to the academy and stayed here on Saldinar to work at a mechanics garage. Plus there's the fact that we are three years into the future. It's the only explanation we have at our disposal!" Josh said rather convincingly.

The two of them left the inn to start their exasperated search again. They were wandering through the crowd of people asking if any of them knew where to find Sarah. Almost everyone knew who she was; they all said the same thing, "She's a very sweet girl. And so pretty too even though she wears such boyish clothing, but no one knows where she came from." Jim was about to go find Josh and give up. Jim trudged back in a state of hopeless exhaustion to where he last saw him. He sat down on a bench in front of the inn and pulled the picture from his pocket.

Jim sat there thinking about all the stuff that happened at the academy and he wondered just how long they would have to be here until they could go home bringing Sarah with them.

In the corner of Jim's eye he saw an old alien woman drop a basket full of groceries she had just bought. Jim stood to walk over and help her pick up her produce, when a girl with hair that just barely graced her shoulders, and wearing the baggy clothes that Jim had lent to her the last time he saw her knelt down and started picking them up off the ground. "Here you go, Mrs. Wenters." The girl said in a voice that went over you like the first rays of sun as it rises. "Thank you so much, Sarah." Said the woman as she and the girl stood up.

"Sarah…Sarah!" Jim thought to himself, as tears of joy brimmed his eyes. He wiped them away quickly as Sarah waved goodbye to the woman she had just helped. She started to move off down the street, and when Jim finally stopped shaking is surprise and bliss he pursued her. "Sarah. Sarah!" Jim called after her as he maneuvered through the crowd to meet her.

Sarah turned to meet his gaze and gave him a sweet smile. "Oh, hello." She said to him. Jim felt for an instant that something was wrong, but this didn't stop him from embracing her as the crowd passed them by. "Sarah! I can't believe we actually found you. I though it would take forever." Jim said holding her tightly. Sarah was in a state of astonishment and was very confused. She tried to speak but was muffled out by Jim's grip holding her face so close to his chest.

Jim felt as though time had stopped for only a moment; a moment that was as fragile as glass. Sarah began to wriggle her way out of his arms and once she broke through his brace like embrace she stepped back, slightly befuddled. Jim took a step closer to her and said "Sarah, come on. We have to go find Josh and tell him it's time to go home." Jim took her by the hand feeling scars from where she had cut her hands on the cliff side. Just as soon as Jim had taken her hand, she pulled it away. Jim looked at her, but just as her eyes met his, he felt a sharp pain on his cheek.

Jim put his hand to where Sarah had struck him and looked at her in shock. "Sir, I don't know who you are or how you know my name, but you should know it's rude to do something like this to someone you don't even know!" Sarah said, in an angry and shaking voice. All of a sudden the moment that Jim had felt emerge early had been completely shattered.

Sarah raced off down the street, and Jim simply stood there completely unaware of what had just occurred.


	16. Sarah's New Life

"I can't believe she slapped me. And she acted like she didn't even know me." Jim said holding an icepack to his face. Josh was sitting on his bed in the room they had rented out for the week in red Josh's (that's what we are going to call him) family's inn. Josh was wracking his brain with every possible answer he could come up with, but one kept sticking out. Even though it had been a couple hours since Sarah slapped him, Jim could still feel the sting.

"I can tell just by how much this hurts that she's a lot stronger than she used to be." Jim pointed out to Josh as he sat down on his own bed. Josh sighed and said "I wish I could have been there when you saw her. Even if it meant I would get slapped too. So how did she look? Okay I hope." Jim sat down his ice pack and said "She's fine. She looks totally happy, but she looks a lot different." "How so?" Josh asked, looking at him with furrowed brows.

"Well her hands are scared from when he cut them on the cliff side, her hair just barely touched her shoulders, and she was wearing my clothes." Jim replied. "Your clothes!" Josh was laughing on his back while Jim stared at him. "I could just see it. The question is though, why would she keep your clothes if she doesn't even remember you?" Josh was making a good point. "I was thinking about that too, but it couldn't be that somehow she still remembers us could it?" Jim said not wanting to give himself false hope.

"Well, it's very possible, but we can't be for sure. It could be that she is staying with a poor family and keeps those clothes so they don't have to buy new ones." Josh explained. "I guess that could be it." "By the way, you were gone for a while before coming here. What were you doing?" Josh asked pulling down the bed sheets to go to bed. Jim held up the locket that Josh had retrieved from the lake earlier that day. Sarah's locket shone like the tail of a comet.

"I took it to the jeweler's like you said. I had them replace everything except for the machine inside that held all of the recordings." Jim said, smiling broadly. "I'm hoping it will convince her that she really knows us." "We will just have to find out. Good night, Jim." Josh said turning off the lamp on the bedside table.

After Josh had fallen asleep, Jim dove under the covers and opened the golden locket. The images and events that had taken place during their last days as students passed in front of him as if they had only happened yesterday. Josh laughing, Jim working on the solar surfer that is now in pieces and Sarah's warm familiar smile were all being replayed to him. Before Jim realized it, his face was wet with tears.

"Jim. Jim, wake up. It's morning." Josh said, pulling the covers off of Jim's head. Jim grunted as he slipped out of bed and into his boots. "You look horrible. Didn't you get any sleep last night?" Josh said looking at Jim's eyes that had rings under them. Jim sighed while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and said "Not really. Um…The slap Sarah gave me still hurt and kept me up all night." "I can see why. Your face is all swollen." Josh said pointing to Jim's face.

"What?" Jim went into the bathroom and turned to the mirror. It was true; clearly showing on Jim's right cheek was a swollen mark from where Sarah had slapped him. Jim touched it lightly and it stung. "Ow!" "Maybe we should cover that up with a bandage. It's not that pretty." Josh said.

The two of them went down to get breakfast after covering Jim's swollen cheek with a padded bandage. Red haired Josh came to their table as they sat down and said "I heard what happened with Sarah. Does your face hurt?" "Just a bit." Jim said with a tired smile. "Hey…Josh, would you happen to know where Sarah is staying?"

Sarah was sleeping a dark room and sleeping peacefully. Her peaceful dreaming of the academy was disturbed when something unexpected entered her sleep. She saw rain, a solar surfer crashed against a tree, and someone reaching for her over a cliff. She was tossing and turning in her bed, crying in her sleep. Suddenly, the image of an exploding star crossed the threshold into her dreams, and she woke up with a scream.

Sarah held her breath for a moment then gave out a long sigh. She worked her way out of the maze of bed sheets that had followed her to the floor when she fell out of bed. As soon as she found an exit, she looked around and allowed her eyes to adjust to the dark. Sarah located the curtains covering the large window and danced her way over to let the light in. She stood by the window, simply soaking in the sunlight before running over to the elegant closet in the corner of her large ivory room.

Upon opening the closet, many stylish and beautiful dresses avalanched out on her. She gave a playful shriek as she dug herself out of the pile of clothes and she looked back in her closet. There hanging in the darkest reaches of her closet, were the lose-fitting boy's clothes that she had been found in. She didn't know why it was that she kept them when the person who found her provided her with such striking gowns, but she didn't care. She quickly changed into the simple garments and put on her boots before running down stairs to the dinning hall.

The dinning hall's table extended almost completely across the 50 ft. long room, and Sarah ran down to the end to join the 18 year old boy who was already sitting there. "Good Morning!" Sarah said sitting down cheerfully. "Good Morning, Sarah." said the boy, looking at her through his black hair that was covering one of his eyes. Just as Sarah started to eat the boy sighed and said, "Sarah, your wearing that outfit again? Why don't you wear one of the ones I had made for you? You know I like you to look nice."

Sarah smiled at him and said "I know, but I just like these clothes. I don't know why but I think their special. You understand right, Tristan?" (DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN!) "Of course, Sarah; you can wear whatever you like. By the way, I heard from one of the maids that you had a shocking encounter yesterday." Tristan said. Sarah put down her silver wear and began to explain.

"It was the weirdest thing. There was this boy who was about my age and he was following me down the street while I was coming back. He was calling my name so I turned around to see who it was. I was really surprised because I didn't know who he was. Anyway, as soon as he got close to me, he just hugged me. He wouldn't let me go and he was squeezing me so tight. After he let go I just stared at him. He looked really happy, but also like he was just crying."

Sarah finished her sentence sympathetically; she couldn't get Jim's sad comet blue eyes out of her head. "To continue, he took me by the hand and tried taking me to someone named Josh. He said 'it's time to go home.' I pulled away and when he looked back at me I slapped him and ran back here. That's what happened." Sarah finished, picking up her silver wear to finish her breakfast. "I know Josh, he works in the mechanics garage down town, but who was this guy? What did this he look like?" Tristan asked interested.

Sarah contemplated every feature of Jim's face as she finished the last of her eggs. "Well, to start off he had a peculiar hair cut. The bottom half of his head was shaved except for one braid. It kind of reminded me of a mouse's tail. He was a couple inches taller than me and what struck me as very odd is that he was wearing the same exact clothing as me." "That is odd." Tristan commented. "Although, what seemed to be the most intriguing thing about him were his eyes and his smile. His eyes were an incredibly pure blue and he had the most crooked smile." Sarah said completing her description.

The butler who had been taking down the details on paper left the room and Tristan said, "You seem to have his face down to a pin for someone you barely got a look at." "I know it's strange, but every little thing about him, even the way he talked and his voice, seem really familiar. I'm probably never going to see him again so it's not important. I'm going to the sparing room to train." Sarah said getting up from the table. "I'll see you later then, Sarah." Tristan said.

Just as Sarah left the room, the butler came back holding a newspaper and said "Sir, we found some information on the boy Miss Sarah described." Tristan took the newspaper from him and read the page that the butler told him to go to. "That's very interesting. It seems we've got a little criminal going after our precious guest." Tristan said.


	17. Confronting an Old Enemy

Jim and Josh were still talking to red Josh at the inn, interested in what he had to say about Sarah and where she ended up. "She's staying with who!" Jim and Josh said simultaneously. "I told you. Sarah is staying with Tristan. He's a friend of mine; she'll be perfectly fine." Red Josh said. "To think, she ended up in the hands of one of the people we hate most." Jim said, with an infuriated toned.

"What is it that you guys have against Tristan anyway? Di he do something to you?" Red Josh asked inquisitive. "It's a long story that you probably wouldn't believe. Putting that aside, we need to figure out how we are supposed to get Sarah out of that mansion." Josh said poking at his breakfast, with a thoughtful expression. "Why don't you just go pay him a visit?" Red Josh said, completely serious. "Come on, it can't be that easy." Jim said with a questioning face.

"It is that easy. Tristan likes to have guests so anyone who wants to talk to him is completely welcome." Red Josh said. The two friends looked at each other, contemplating what they should do with this information. "I guess we have no choice we have to go visit Tristan." Jim said rubbing his neck. "I wish you luck then. I hope you succeed in your mission." Red Josh said, getting up from his table and leaving for the mechanics garage.

Jim and Josh walked down the crowded streets towards Tristan's mansion, pondering what his impression of them would be. "I bet he will be as arrogant and insulting as ever." Jim said, disgusted by the thought of him. "You have to remember that this is a completely different reality. Tristan may not even know who you are. He may even act differently than usual." Josh said proving a point. "I guess we'll see won't we."

The two of them entered a large ornate entrance into a main hall almost as elegant as the one Jim and Josh saw at the academy. "Master Tristan will be with you shortly." said a butler, who walked up stairs and entered a room. "This is really over the top, isn't it?" Jim said, slightly impressed. "Well of course. He's the son of aristocrats. His parents govern this planet." Josh said, having been in Tristan's house before.

"Actually, since my parents died in a pirate attack a couple years ago, I govern this planet now." said Tristan from the balcony above. He descended down the stairs to where Jim and Josh were waiting; at his new age he towered over them by a number of inches. Jim started, "Hello, we're here about…" "About Sarah; I know she told me all about your little encounter yesterday. Follow me and we can finish talking." Tristan said, walking towards a door to their right. Jim and Josh were slightly befuddled as they gave each other confused looks. They turned back and followed Tristan into the room.

It was a personal office decorated with paintings of Tristan as a child and of his late parents. "Sit down please. It's bad luck to linger in doorways." Tristan said sitting down. The two puzzled spacers sat down in large velvet chairs opposite the hand carved wooden one that Tristan was sitting in behind its matching desk. "Let's get down to business. From what I heard you know Sarah, but she clearly doesn't know you. So, what is it you want with her?" Tristan asked directly and, to their surprise, politely.

"We're here to take her back." Jim said, getting right to the point as he intended. "Take her back? Where?" Tristan said, sitting up straight with curiosity. Jim paused; he didn't know how to respond to this. "Um…you probably wouldn't believe us if we told you." Josh said jumping in for Jim's lack of explanation. "Try me. I know more than you think." Tristan said confidently.

Josh thought that a straight out answer wasn't the best idea, but Jim knew that Tristan wouldn't believe any lies that he could come up with. "We came from a different dimension. Sarah came from that same dimension 2 months ago through a wormhole. We're her friends and we were sent to bring her back home with us." Jim said without any apprehension in his voice. Josh pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking about Jim's reckless answer and about how they were going to be thrown out by the security.

"Well, that wasn't the answer I was expecting." Tristan said bluntly. Jim and Josh looked at him peculiarly. "What exactly were you expecting?" Josh said, wondering what exactly Tristan meant by his statement. "Well I'm not sure, but this paper may help explain my surprise about you knowing Sarah and about you being here, Jim Hawkins." Tristan said politely handing them a 3 month old news paper.

Jim and Josh were perplexed. How did Tristan know Jim's name without them even telling him. Jim snatched the paper from his hand and Tristan said, "Go to the fifth page." Jim turned to the page Tristan had specified and found an outrageous article in the top left-hand corner. It was an article about Jim (from this dimension)… he had been arrested. "What…" Josh said, speechlessly reading over Jim's shoulder.

"It's interesting. You said you've known Sarah for more than a year and that you were there when she disappeared and ended up here, but according to this paper you were arrested for illegal piloting of a solar surfer a month before her disappearance. Quite a contradiction." Tristan pointed out plainly. Jim crumpled the newspaper angrily.

"I can see that you are upset by my reasoning. It only makes sense since I won't be letting you take her knowing the record that you have with the interstellar police. Though we couldn't find anything on you fish boy, I suspect that you are an accomplice of some sort. I'm sad to say that as intriguing as your story is, you will have to leave." Tristan said, signaling a pair of alien butlers.

Jim and Josh stood up in alarm as the muscular men put them in brace-like holds. They struggled to escape, but they weren't nearly as strong as the people holding them. Jim knew that any form of fighting that he had learned would be useless in the position he was in. "You can't do this! You don't know what your doing!" Josh protested, still struggling to get free. "I know perfectly well what I'm doing. I'm keeping my friend safe from the likes of you and Jim." Tristan said, standing up from his seat. "Friend! You?" Jim said in an outburst.

"Of course I'm her friend! The day she crashed on the outskirts of town, I was the only one who went and looked for any survivors. I found her unconscious with burns, cuts, and a sever blow to the head. A day after I brought her here she woke up hardly knowing where she came from or how she got here. I let her stay here when she had no where to go." Tristan finished his explanation and Jim and Josh were still as they listened.

He walked over to Jim and stared him directly in the eye, looking down at him. Jim glared up in discontent not one bit surprised that he was in for something that would humiliate him. Tristan took hold of the bandage coving the swollen area on Jim's face and tore it off in one fluid motion. Jim grunted in pain as he shut his eyes only to reopen them and see Tristan's smug face examining the swollen mark. "Hmph…That's defiantly Sarah's handy work." With this final statement, Tristan turned back to his desk and Jim and Josh were carried out.

Sarah was standing bewildered and stunned on the second floor balcony in the main hall. She had heard everything pour out of the wooden doors of Tristan's office. Both stories sounded so real…she didn't know which to believe. She was drawn from her thoughts by the shouts of the two boys being dragged out of the office. She gripped the railing and leaned outwards to get a better look at them. "Who are they? They seem like they've known me for a long time." Sarah said to herself.

Sarah watched as the boy in the Montressoran clothing kicked the butler holding him in the shin causing him to be released long enough to escape. The boy tried to run back to the office to attack Tristan one last time, but the butler grabbed him by his short braid, which surprisingly didn't get torn off. Sarah suddenly reached for where her braid used to lay over her shoulder, but nothing was there. "Why…why do I feel like I was in a similar situation?" Sarah said. (Remember when Tristan pulled her braid?)

She looked back down for one last look at these strange boys. Just as the one with the braid was turned around, their eyes met. Sarah was surprised and she felt a pit in her stomach. The boys were forced out of the front doors of the mansion and in that moment, Sarah knew she had to find out more about this boy and …about Jim Hawkins.


	18. Disguise

Sarah watched from her bedroom window as Jim and Josh were thrown out on there backs. "They don't have to treat them so roughly." She thought. Jim fumed all the way back to the inn and Josh chose to avoid any pointless rants by saying anything. Unfortunately, this didn't stop Jim from speaking his mind about the situation.

"Did you hear how he was talking to me like he knew everything about me by reading one little article. And he thinks he knows Sarah! The Sarah that he thinks he knows isn't the same Sarah we knew at the academy." Jim finished his tirade and rubbed the back of his neck just as they entered the mechanic's garage to meet Red Josh.

"Hey, Joshua." Josh said greeting himself. Red Josh rolled out from under a damaged longboat saying, "Hey guys. So how did it go? Did you see Sarah?" "It went terribly. I did see Sarah though; our eyes met for an instant when we were being thrown out. Tristan led us on thinking he would let us see Sarah. Then he tells us that he doesn't trust us and that he won't let us near Sarah. He thinks we're going to hurt her." Jim said, rambling on again. "Are you?" Red Josh said, cleaning oil and grease off his face.

"Of course not. We're just here to take her back home." Josh said, with a true tone of sincerity. "I've known Tristan since I was just 7 and I've never doubted his judgment, but this time I believe that you are the ones who are right in this situation. I can tell that you two only want what's good for Sarah." Red Josh said.

Jim was leaning against the entrance to the garage waiting for the two Joshes to finish they're conversation. Jim wasn't paying any attention to the conversation as he fiddled with the golden locket that he was keeping safe around his neck. Josh noticed this and knew what Jim was thinking. "Jim, if we can get that locket to Sarah it could solve our problem of her missing memories." Josh said, taking hold of the small golden charm.

"Isn't that a memory locket?" Red Josh asked, stepping away from his work. "Yeah, it holds a great deal of Sarah's memories of us before the day she disappeared. The only problem is that Tristan isn't going to let us anywhere near her; so there's no way for us to possibly get the locket to her." Jim sighed, feeling slightly defeated. "If Tristan is that persistent then we may never see Sarah again." Josh said, sitting his chin on his fist.

"That is not entirely true." Red Josh said stepping in with an optimistic tone. "What makes you say that?" Josh asked, wondering what his other self was thinking. "I'm saying that I can get you into Tristan's mansion without him even knowing." Red Josh said this and tossed Jim an envelope with an invitation in it. The invitation was for Tristan's 18th birthday and the party just happened to be tonight.

"It's a masquerade dance?" Jim said, having never been to one. Josh heard this and his face immediately enlivened. "Joshua! (What Jim & Josh calls Red Josh) You're a genius!" Josh stood up and gave himself a pat on the back. "Fill me in I'm a little lost." Jim stated. "It's a masquerade dance, Jim! As in we will be wearing masks and disguises and best of all Tristan won't notice us!" Josh was so ecstatic that it rubbed off on Jim and they were high fiving and everything.

"Now now; calm down guys before you get excited and go off on your mission you have to hide any features that could give you away." Red Josh advised. Jim's hand immediately reached back to his braid. "Our hair is a complete give away. How will we cover that up?" Jim said, pointing out an obvious fault in their plan. "Simple, Tristan gave this invitation to me personally so obviously he will be expecting me there. Josh, this is where you come in. You're going to go to the party as me." Red Josh said.

"But how am I supposed to get my hair red? I don't have any dye water." Josh said to himself. "What's dye water?" Jim asked curiously. "It's a special water made specifically for fish-like aliens such as Joshua and I. There are different colors and when we drink it our hair changes to match the color of the water." Josh explained to Jim. "That's right, Josh. And I just happen to have a bottle of red dye water right here." Red Josh said, tossing him the bottle.

Josh opened the bottle and Jim watched waiting to see his friend's image change in front of him. As Josh drank the red liquid, his fins changed color as the red dye flowed through the veins in his hair. "Well then, Josh; your transformation is complete. Let's compare you to the real thing." Red Josh said. He dragged Josh in front of a mirror in the corner and stood next to him. They looked like they were the exact same person minus the difference of 3 inches. "You know what; if I didn't know better I'd say we were the same person. Except I'm older than you are." Red Josh said.

"I'm glad we got that cleared up, but what will we do about my disguise? Tristan is going to have his eyes out for me." Jim said. "First off you both need masks. As for your hair, Jim; a wig is the only answer." Red Josh said. With that the three of them went to the costume shop down town. They tried on every mask they could possibly find that would hide Jim's face well enough. Eventually they found a mask that covered Jim's eyes well enough that no one could pick their bright blue color from the crowd.

Then they started searching for wigs to hide Jim's most obvious trait, his braid. Most of the ones that they tried looked utterly ridiculous on Jim. The two Joshes spent most of their time laughing at Jim's various ludicrous hairstyles. It was only hours before the party and they still hadn't found a wig. "This is hopeless. All these wigs just scream 'Hey! I'm Jim Hawkins! Call security!'" Josh said leaning exhausted against his other self's back. "I know; they all look fake." Red Josh responded.

"We have only one left to try." Jim said to them, holding up the last wig in the shop. He struggled with putting the wig on then went to the mirror to check. This tawny blonde wig was the only thing that succeeded in hiding his prominent braid. "Not really my color but it'll have to work." Jim said turning to the two of them. "I don't know. If you get to see Sarah she may just fall for you." Red Josh said with a laugh. "Oh, they've had their moments. Believe me." Josh said, laughing along with him.

Jim was incredibly embarrassed and said, "Come on guys. Lay off!" "Look he's even blushing! Hahaha!" Josh said, laughing with himself. They paid for the mask and wig and went back to the inn. Jim and Josh unpacked their formal wear from their graduation party and Jim was in full disguise.

Jim put on his wig and mask saying, "Ok; it's time to get to that party and bring back Sarah."


	19. Masquerade

Jim and Josh were approaching Tristan's mansion nervously and fully determined in their mission. Jim looked like a completely different person and Josh looked…like himself. The two of them stepped into the brightly lit main hall that they had been thrown out of this morning. Jim would normally be admiring the nicely decorated hall that looked even better than before, but he knew better. His main objective was to find Sarah and convince her to come back with them.

Jim and Josh tried their best to move through the crowd of aristocrats and close friends of Tristan's, but they found the hall was full of people and more were coming. "We can't stick together in this crowd. We will have to split up." Josh said, maneuvering his way past someone to get back to Jim. "Josh!" Tristan's call rang in their ears. Josh switched on his friendliest smile and turned towards Tristan. "Hey, Tristan." Josh greeted in response. "It's been quite a while since you last came to visit. Has work been keeping you busy?" Tristan asked.

"Yes, sorry I haven't had a chance to stop by." Josh said, making sure that his tone of voice didn't shift and reveal his true feelings. "By the way, have you finished working on my longboat yet?" Tristan said. Josh recalled Red Josh working on the longboat in the garage and responded truthfully "I was working on it this afternoon. It should be done before the week is out." "Good." Tristan said gratefully.

Tristan stopped and took a closer look at Josh through the eyes of his mask, which was still slightly covered by his hair. "Josh, have you gotten shorter?" Neither Josh nor Jim knew what to say in response to this observation. "It must be my eyes playing tricks on me." Tristan said, allowing the two of them to relax. Tristan turned to Jim, who had been watching his expressions intently since the beginning of the conversation. "Who is you friend her, Josh? I don't think I've met him before." Tristan asked, not seeing Jim through his disguise.

"I'm Jason Ether. It's nice to meet you." Jim said, putting on the act of a first meeting. "Like wise. Are you a friend of Josh? He's never mentioned you before." Tristan asked, curiously as always. "I just recently got out of the interstellar academy. We haven't seen each other in a while." Jim answered, having expected this question to appear. "Well then I suppose you will be joining a crew soon." Tristan said. "I will eventually." Jim answered, wishing Tristan would leave so he could continue his search.

Jim got his wish when Tristan said "I hope you enjoy the party, Jason, but I have to go and talk to the other guests. Would you come with me, Josh?" "Uh, sure." Josh said, really not wanting to go. As Tristan turned around, Josh whispered to Jim "Help me here!" "Look if you go with him you may find Sarah a lot quicker." Jim whispered back.

Josh reluctantly followed Tristan who was easily cutting through the crowd of guests. Meanwhile, Jim was slowly moving past the many well-dressed party goers searching for any sign of Sarah. Jim searched but was distracted the entire time. By what? Let's say that innumerable pairs of aristocratic female eyes had been boring into the back of his head since he came in the front door.

Jim was listening to every whisper and mention of his 'name' that was made by a group of girls. Though this distracted him from his search, it did help him avoid any encounters with shy head-over-heels girls who wanted to ask for a chance to dance with him. Besides the fact that he was out running many groups of girls, I guess it was luck that led him to bump into a girl with short cut brown hair and an elegant blue dress that was long in the back and shorter in the front.

"Sarah!" Jim said not realizing he should stay in character. Sarah smiled and said "You have me at a disadvantage. How is it you know my name?" "Um…Tristan mentioned you and I thought it would be nice to meet you." Jim said covering up his mistake. "I'm flattered, um…I'm sorry what's you name?" Sarah asked. "I'm Jason Ether." Jim answered sticking to his story. "I would very much appreciate it if you would honor me with a dance, Sarah." Jim said, holding out his hand to her.

"I would be delighted." Sarah said taking hold of his hand. Many girls were disappointed as the next song started and they began to dance. Sarah was truly enjoying herself; not knowing exactly who she was dancing with. Even though he knew he would be taking her away from this new found happiness, Jim had every intention of giving her the locket and he believed this was the perfect time to do so.

Jim stopped in the middle of the dance and said "Sarah, I want you to take this." Jim withdrew the faultless locket from around his neck and put it in her scared hands. Sarah's face lit up. "Jason this is gorgeous. This is the only present I've received that Tristan didn't give me. Thank you." Sarah said. "It's what's inside that's important. Inside that locket are all of the things that you forgot." Jim said.

Sarah looked at him perplexingly then looked down at the locket in her damaged hands. "What do you mean?" she asked, just as the song ended. "Jason, just who are you?" Before Jim could even answer, a torrent of girls from the side of the dance floor came to his side in high hopes. Like being washed down a river Sarah was drawn away from Jim, and he was taken in the other direction.

The girls stepped closer and closer to Jim until he couldn't move back anymore in fear that he would topple over on someone. Despite his efforts, Jim fell backwards onto the floor with about 5 or 6 girls following him down. Everyone in the dance hall turned to see what the commotion was and the crowd receded to give them room. The crowds gave out a gasp of shock and it was clear to see why. Jim didn't realize what had happened until he rubbed the back of his neck. He felt the prickle of the hair that made up his braid on the back of his hand.

Jim frantically reached for his mask but couldn't find it until he saw it laying just feet away from him. Tristan had heard the commotion and came over to discover Jim had blown his cover. "Jim Hawkins! Didn't I tell you you're not welcome here?" Tristan said, summoning security. Josh knew he had to get out or he would be discovered too; he ran outside to meet Jim later.

Jim jumped up and grabbed the wig and the mask, but had to drop them when he felt the grip of the guards around his arms. Sarah was standing there, not knowing what had happened. Jim didn't even struggle as he was carried away; Sarah watched and bent down to pick up Jim's mask. She looked at it, and not having a mask herself put it on.

Jim found himself being thrown out of the front gates for the second time in one day. He sat up and looked at Tristan in contempt. "This is my second warning for you. If you come here again I will take extreme measures to make sure you don't bother me again." Tristan said this and turned to as the gates were locked behind him.

Jim stood up with an exhale of breath and brushed the dirt off of his formal wear. Josh came out to join him from where he had been waiting on the other side of the wall. "I guess that ends our covert missions in this dimension." Josh said jokingly. "Yeah, but we got the locket back to her and that's what matters." Jim said starting to walk back to the inn. "That may be true, but there's always the chance that she'll think it's a fabricated and then there will be no way of bringing her back that doesn't require force." Josh said.

Jim stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Josh. "I guess we will just have to hope."


	20. Realization

Sarah was lying on her back atop her bed after the incident in the ballroom and gazed into the mask she had acquired from her strange admirer. She could barely begin to explain why she saw the boy's stunning blue eyes every time she looked into the hollow eyes of the empty mask. They haunted her as well as enraptured her. It was as though he was calling her with his melancholy blue eyes; telling her that there was something important she had forgotten.

Sarah rolled onto her stomach and set the mask on her bedside table. Near to where she had placed it was the glimmering gold locket. Sarah reached for it and held it softly in her hand and let the chain tangle around her fingers and the pendant swing and shine against the backdrop of her elaborately painted ceiling. "He said what was on the inside is important." Sarah said repeating every word he had said to her. She hesitated in opening the locket but made her decision to do so. Just as her finger tips brushed the clasp of the treasured object Tristan knocked on the door of her chambers.

"Sarah, can I come in?" he asked with a somewhat anxious voice. Knowing he wouldn't approve of anything from the hands of the boy, Jim Hawkins, whom he so detested she hid the mask and locket in the drawer of her bedside table. "S-sure." She responded. Tristan entered and found Sarah sitting on her bed cross-legged in her pajamas.

"Are you alright? Why aren't you outside enjoying the rest of the party? Wait a minute…" Tristan said pausing. "...are you still in shock about what happened with that intruder Jim Hawkins? Well, have no fear; he will not be entering this house as long as he values his life." Sarah knew Jim meant absolutely no harm and responded, "I'm perfectly fine! Please don't be hard on him. I-I was just feeling tired and in need of rest." Sarah was staring down at her bare feet, thinking deeply about what she would do about Jim Hawkins. Tristan looked at her expression and felt she was at a loss.

He put a comforting arm around her shoulder and said, "Sleep well and anything that is troubling you will disappear." "Thank you, Tristan." She replied not looking up from her feet. Tristan saw that his words had not gotten through to her and pulled his arm from her shoulder saying, "The party is ending, I must go bid our guests good bye." Just before he left the room he bid her good night and she did the same.

The door shut and his foot steps echoed down the hall, and as soon as Sarah could no longer hear him her hands raced for the handle to open the door to her hidden treasures. She withdrew the locket from its place and dove under the thick down feather covers. In the darkness of her room the locket was not nearly as bright as in the sunlight but never the less it still had a glow to it. Her fingers again grasped the locket clasp and when it clicked open a small light emitted from inside.

Sarah heard laughter from a pair of voices that were distant and echoing yet familiar and affectionate. She opened the cover of the locket as far as it would go and saw images that she could not remember but that made her feel as if she should. There was a boy that looked very much like the Josh she knew; the Josh that had red fins for hair and worked down in the mechanics garage. Then she saw herself, with long flowing hair, sitting with her friends and looking happier than she had any day in the past 2 months.

Finally, the images focused on the very boy that had been clouding her mind since she met him in the street. He was hard at work on a solar surfer and instead of looking exhausted or annoyed with the tedious work he looked elated and joyful to be doing what he was and being where they were. This joy that she had forgotten herself was forming a gaping whole in her heart.

Sarah began to focus on what was being said by the three beings trapped in the locket. The one holding the locket, whom she assumed what herself, was stumbling around an open area free of the trees that normally surrounded them. "This looks like a good place to make camp. Don't you think, guys?" said the voice Sarah knew to be hers. Josh crossed in front of the screen followed by the infamous Jim Hawkins at his side. "This is perfect, Sarah." Josh stated. "It's only fair that the world's best navigator would find the best spot to build our temporary home." Jim said turning to Sarah with a smile full of care.

Suddenly, the image froze. It froze on the warm and loving smile of the boy with dramatic sapphire eyes. Sarah was fixated on his face for a time that she knew was keeping her awake for an extended time. By the time she came to her senses, the entire layer of sheets surrounding her face had been stained with salty tears. She saw no reason why she should be weeping as she was, but something told her that it was a longing to rejoin these two boys. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that they were her true friends and that they had been right al along.

~Next Day~

Jim and Josh were milling around the inn, trying to make themselves useful by helping Joshua with clearing tables. It reminded Jim of his time working at the Benbow with his mother. Their plan was to wait for Sarah to come to the market like she did every 3 days and catch her like they did on the first day. It was almost time for them to go out to meet her, when they heard the bell on the inn's door ring. The two cadets turned to greet the customer saw that it was not who they had expected.

Sarah stood in front of the closed door panting basket in hand, making them assume that she had run here. "Jim Hawkins!" Sarah yelled furiously. Jim and Josh both had expressions of dread on their faces. What was she going to do? She could have them reported to Tristan and have them taken in for harassment, or she could be merciful and throw the locket in their faces and tell them never to see her again. Sarah did neither of the two.

She dropped the basket clumsily on one of thee tables and ran straight for Jim. Jim put his arms up to guard his face from any more attacks from her open hand. Instead of feeling a stinging pain in his skin he felt the fixed embrace of her arms ad her fingers digging into the leather back of his jacket. Sarah was sobbing, her tears staining his shirt. Josh watched this heartfelt scene and saw it as a possible sign of her regained memories.

Jim hated seeing her in such a state; trembling against him. He lowered his arms and but her in a comforting hold. Jim gasped inaudibly; he could feel her heart breaking against his chest and held her tighter and fought back tears trying to be strong for her. "I'm sorry." Sarah said through her tears. "I don't remember. I don't remember any of it! I wish I could but all I have is what's in the locket." "I see." Josh said dismally. "I guess it was a little too much to hope for your memories back."

Sarah departed from Jim's side and walked over to embrace Josh in a similar fashion. He hugged her back and gave her a playful toss of the hair to light her spirits. It helped considerably and she asked if he used to do that to her before she lost her memories. They discussed at length everything that had happened since Jim met Sarah and to the point where they were given their mission to find her.

Sarah was in disbelief about most things but came to agree with them one every topic…except one. "I don't believe that Tristan is like that. He has been so kind to me." "Sarah, he is a brute who is totally reliant on his social standing. He has threatened all three of us more than once." Josh explained. "Maybe this Tristan is different!" Sarah said standing from her seat. "You've seen how he treated us even when all we wanted to do is talk to you." Jim stated. Sarah put thought into what he said and sat back down.

"We will be able to leave in 2 days when Joshua is finished tuning the long boat so it can handle going back through the worm hole safely." Jim explained. "We'll be home free." Josh said. Sarah grabbed up her basket and said, "I'm going to tell Tristan I'm leaving with you." The town boys stood up and Josh exclaimed, "You can't! If you do he may not let you go. And if it gets any worse he'll come after us!" "Josh, I have to. Even if the Tristan from your world was as cruel as you say this one may not. Please he's been kind to me and I told want to leave him thinking that I betrayed him." Sarah pleaded.

They saw the sincerity in her eyes and heard the determination in her voice. They knew that even if they opposed her she would go run to tell him. Sarah left the inn and started to head back to the mansion. She ran through the entire house gathering everything she owned, including a handful of the dresses that Tristan had gotten her, into a large suitcase. She found Tristan in his office signing thank you cards to all of the guests that attended the party the previous night. Sarah knocked on the door and Tristan turned his attention to her with a smile. Tristan saw the heavy suitcase in her hand and a serious expression on her face. This caused him to question her as to what was happening.

"Tristan…I'm going to go back with Jim and Josh; to my home world." She said bluntly. "Sarah, you know you can't trust them." Tristan said trying to sway her. Sarah held up the locket on her palm and opened it displaying to him the footage stored inside. "They're not lying, Tristan. All the evidence is in this locket." She said this then closed the locket hiding it beneath the loose fitting shirt she had been informed of borrowing from Jim. "I'm going. I simply wanted to express how thankful I am to you. We will never meet again, I'm sorry and good-bye."

Sarah was making her way to the ornate door to take her leave of this dimension but was stopped buy a strong hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Tristan's stern and demanding face. "I can't let you go with them. Your not part of that world any more and I will not let you, the person I love most in the world, humiliate me by running away with a boy who is nothing but trash from Montressor!" Tristan gripped her tighter as Sarah began to struggle. "They were right! No matter which world I choose, Tristan Falling will always be cruel and unfeeling!" Sarah screamed and the next thing she knew she was on the marble floor.

Tristan was starring down at her with an expression of sorrow and frustration. "Take her to her room and lock her in. Don't under any circumstance let her out." Tristan gave these orders to the butler by the door and turned back to his office so Sarah wouldn't see the look on his face that would have told her that he was breaking down.


	21. Rescue

Sarah struggled with the lock, trying every lock pick from a hairpin to a paperclip. The lock was strong and ended up breaking everything she attempted to open it with. She grunted as she threw herself onto her bed. What could she do, she was under house arrest. Sarah had to contact Jim somehow but nothing was getting out of this house as long as she was planning on leaving with them. She rolled onto her stomach with a sigh.

What would Jim and Josh do if she never got out? She would want them to leave without her; they didn't deserve to be trapped here. Sarah was beginning to think of the worst case scenario when she heard a happy chirping outside her window. She looked up and saw a small pink alien zigzagging outside the glass. "What is that!" Sarah exclaimed. Morph could see that she didn't understand and landed on the window ledge changing into a 2 inch tall Jim. Sarah instantly lit up and ran to the window. She opened just enough that the small figure could sneak in and transform back into it's jello-like appearance.

"Were you sent by Jim?" Sarah asked the friendly pink blob. Morph gurgled a response that confirmed her assumption. Sarah ran to the desk and wrote a quick note to Jim and Josh. Morph knew what his initial assignment was and took the note she held it out to him. Sarah opened the window and Morph flew off towards the town. Sarah watched him hopefully until he was out of sight.

While they packed up their things, Jim and Josh waited patiently to see Sarah emerge from over the hill. Time past and they hadn't seen her since she left and hour earlier. "She's taking too long. Do you think something happened?" Josh said concerned. "I'm going to send Morph to find out what happened. Where is he?" Jim said. Joshua (Red Josh) said "Morph is in the kitchen helping my mom with the dishes." Jim went into the kitchen and sure enough Morph was assisting Joshua's mother by using his changing powers to substitute for the missing sponge. "Morph come here boy." Jim commanded. Morph was immediately at Jim's side. "Morph, I need you to go check on Sarah; but be quiet she could be in trouble." With this order, Morph zoomed out the window directly for the mansion.

After having sent Morph, Jim and Josh watched out the window. After only five minutes Morph came back carrying a small note. Jim took it from Morph's mouth and read it quickly. "Tristan's got Sarah under house arrest." Jim said. "How are we going to get her out? We need to leave as soon as possible." Jim thought and said, "The only option is to bust her out. We need to perform a rescue mission." "Tristan's house is probably surrounded by guards with orders to shoot intruders on sight; namely us! How do you suppose we get in?" Josh said presenting an obvious problem. Jim didn't know how he would deal with the guards if he had to confront them. "We'll just have to wing it and hope that we can get her out safely and without conflict. It will be easier to get in if less of us go so I'll go alone." Jim stated his plan and Josh protested "Jim, you will be out numbered and besides it's not like you can sneak in a house like that without alerting someone." "Hey, I was in the combat class; if I'm caught I'll knock them out."

Josh reluctantly agreed after much persuasion from Jim and they set up their plan to get Sarah out of imprisonment. Jim prepared himself for his mission and Josh went to count the guards at the perimeter of the house. Josh came running back after the sun went down and found Jim, his face painted camouflage and his braid tucked under the collar of his jacket. "There are 2 guards at the gate, 2 more guarding the door and then 8 more surrounding the rest of the house." Josh reported.

Jim armed him self with a grappling hook and a blaster the he hoped he wouldn't have to use on anyone. "Alright, I'm going. If I don't come back and Sarah hasn't been sent ahead of me then assume that I've been captured. I hope to be back by morning. Wish me luck." Josh bid his friend goodbye and Jim disappeared under the cover of darkness.

Not a single light was on in the streets and Jim could barely see where he was going. He reached the top of the hill and hid quickly in the bushes to scope out the entrance. It was just as Josh had explained, the two guards at the front gate were a still has statues listening and looking for any trouble. Jim took aim at a trash can on the opposite side of the wall and pulled the trigger. The trash cans were knocked over and split open and the guards reacted by going to investigate just as Jim had hoped. Jim ran to the gate and jumped grabbing the top and flipping over it. He landed on his feet and hid in the shadows cast by the wall.

There were two more guards at the door and these two had blasters. Jim didn't shoot anything this time not wanting to alert them and cause them to shoot. He felt around in the dirt and found a stone. He tossed it far from the guards hoping to hit the wall and makes some noise. Instead it hit one of the other guards and knocked him out. "Oops.", was all that passed through Jim head but nonetheless he got the guards to leave the door so he could climb up onto the balcony over head. Jim took the grappling hook from his shoulder and swung it up to the ledge. It caught easily and Jim began climbing up the rope. He stepped onto the balcony and pulled the rope up before any guards saw it disappear over the railing.

Lucky for Jim the balcony door was open and he wouldn't have to pick the lock. Unluckily the room he had entered was Tristan's room. Tristan was asleep and Jim noticed a troubled look on his face as he turned in his direction. Jim left his room making no noise and moved silently down the hall way. Something came to Jim's mind as he looked for Sarah's room, "How am I supposed to know which one is her room?" This soon wasn't a problem when he turned a corner and found an even bigger one. There was a guard standing in front of the bed room that he knew had to be Sarah's and Jim took the initiative and ran up to guard, who had apparently not anticipated anyone to get this far, and simply gave him a swift strike to the head knocking him out cold.

"Is it me or is this all easier than it was supposed to be." Jim opened the door after picking the lock and made his way promptly to Sarah's bed side. Sarah, it's me. It's time to go." Jim said in a whispered tone. He pulled off the covers and saw that Sarah wasn't there to begin with. All that was hidden under the covers was a rolled up blanket. The next thing Jim knew was that he was letting his eyes adjust to the sudden lights that had been turned on. Jim looked towards the door but was suddenly restrained by two guards.

"So then who is our intruder?" Tristan said entering through the door. "You obviously did notice the motion sensor placed over the door." As Tristan stepped closer he looked intently at Jim's covered face and couldn't seem to see who he was. Then when he came upon the determined look in Jim's azure eyes and the small braid that had come out from hiding he realized that it was Jim Hawkins. Tristan scowled at him and Jim did the same. "You really are incompetent Montressorian trash. Were you really stupid enough to think that we'd keep here in her room after her attempt to escape out the window this afternoon?"

Tristan turned on his heel and the two guards followed behind him dragging Jim as he struggled against them. The went down a series of stairs until reaching a door with an iron lock. Tristan took a key from a hidden compartment behind a brick and unlocked the door. It swung open and Jim was thrown in. Jim let out a grunt as he rolled across the floor. "Jim! What are you doing here!" Sarah's voice exclaimed. Jim sat up and looked at Sarah whose face was red from being struck by Tristan upon her first attempt to leave.

Tristan tossed Sarah a wet towel and said, "Clean ridiculous paint off of his face not that it will help him look any better." Tristan closed the door upon saying this leaving the two of them in the cold room made of stone. Sarah stared to wipe the camouflage paint off of Jim's face and she began to question his actions. "I couldn't just leave you here. The whole reason Josh and me came here was to bring you back home. The last time we saw you we thought you were dead and we blamed ourselves. It was so hard to face your parents at your funeral. I'd have died from guilt if I had gone back without you." Jim said as Sarah removed the last of the paint.

"So now what are we going to do, Jim? Will we be prisoners in here forever?" Sarah asked in a desperate tone. "No way, Sarah; we have a back-up plan." The night went on and the two of them couldn't sleep. Sarah was troubled and it was clearly visible on her face. Jim took hold of her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Now all that was left was to wait for their rescue.


	22. Last Chance

Josh and Joshua were back in the mechanics garage with the long boat ready and waiting for Jim and Sarah's return. Jim had left hours before in the early morning but he had still not arrived by dawn. "Something's wrong. Jim said if they weren't back by sunrise that they probably had been captured and that we'd need to go get them" Josh said stating what needed to be done. ", but how are we supposed to get inside!" he said with a sigh. Joshua sighed with him and looked around the garage. Then something under a tarp caught his eye. "I think I may have an idea." Joshua said, revealing what was hidden under the tarp. Seeing what it was brought a smile of confidence to Josh's face. "Well my friend this changes things."

In the confines of his room, Tristan was sitting in a chair on his personal balcony with his head leaning back and his eyes closed to the light of the dawn. He was in a state of emotional isolation and had ordered all of the people in the house to keep away from him. Tristan absorbed himself in thinking about the events that lead to the current situation.

"It all started with that bastard from Montessor, Jim Hawkins." Tristan thought. "I had come to love Sarah in the short two months that she was here and no matter what I did or said she never fell for me…and him…She fell for him in three short days and went as far as to join him in his imprisonment; I bet they're bonding with each other right now. What has he done for her in the past that I can't do for her now?"

There was a knock on his door and he lifted his head and looked angrily at the door. "What do you want!" Tristan yelled in an infuriated tone towards the person beyond the door. "I'm sorry, Master Tristan; I know you asked to be left alone but your friend Mr. Joshua Cain is here to see you." said the servant who then retreated from behind the door. At this news, Tristan's anger was lightened and he was glad to have a close friend that he could talk to openly. Tristan made his way calmly down stairs and was more than glad to see his old red-finned friend.

As the two of them embraced in a friendly hug Tristan said in a voice full of heart ache, "It's good to see you, Joshua. The last time I thought I saw you it was an imposter who came with that felon from Montessor." Tristan sighed and continued by saying, "Things have not been going well for me lately." "I think I have something to cheer you up. Come with me." Joshua said with a friendly smile truly trying to bring a smile to Tristan's face. Tristan followed Joshua to the garage connected to the right side of the mansion and was happy to find his prized longboat rebuilt, retuned, and repainted ready to fly. "Joshua, you couldn't have come at a more opportune time." Tristan said "Glad I could help. I heard from someone that you weren't doing well so I finished up the fine tuning as fast as I could. I was thinking that you could take it for a test flight and take you mind off of things." Joshua said walking over and starting the engine. Tristan smiled a bittersweet smile and jumped into the longboat and took off from the garage leaving his cares behind him until he had to come back and face them.

Joshua watched him go farther and farther until he was well over the town and he pulled a communicator out of his pocket and spoke into it. "Josh, what's the status report?" "I'm in and it doesn't look like anyone is in here on guard. They all must be on break now that they have Jim and Sarah under lock and key. No one seems to be expecting us. Now can you tell me where the 'dungeon' was again?" Josh responded back. "If I remember correctly, when Tristan first gave me a tour of the house the was a unlit stair well he told me his parents once held someone who had broken into their house don there until the police came and got him; he called it the 'dungeon.' There's no other place I can think of that he'd put Jim and Sarah. It should be down the left corridor." Joshua explained.

"Ok, I found the stair well." Josh said taking a flash light from his pocket and heading down the steps. Every time he looked back it was darker and the farther down he went the faster the marble walls turned into dirty red brick. Josh reached the bottom which was roughly about 100 feet below ground and he came face to face with an iron door. Josh put the flash light under his arm and the communicator back in his pocket. To confirm that this was the place where his friends were being detained he banged hard three times on the door and said "Jim! Sarah! Are you in there!"

From their cold space inside the cell Jim and Sarah had been woken up from their sleep. Jim was leaning against the wall and Sarah had fallen asleep with her head on his lap. Jim was the first to hear Josh and gently shook Sarah awake. She sat up rubbed her eyes and jumped up when she came to her senses to hear Josh's call of rescue. "Josh? Josh, is that you!" Sarah called out. "To the rescue; Jim, can you tell me where the key to this door is?" "I saw Tristan take a loose brick out of the wall on the right. The key was hidden behind it." Jim answered back. Josh was able to find the brick quickly and was just as fast at unlocking the door. As soon as it was open, Sarah jumped at him and hugged him tightly to thank him. "We have no time for thanks right now; Tristan could be back from his flight at any minute." Josh said in a hurried voice. "Come on, Sarah." Jim said taking her hand as they started sprinting up the stairs.

Josh was leading them through the house and took the communicator out of his pocket and said to Joshua on the other end, "I've got them and we're heading for the exit. Where is Tristan?" Joshua spoke back saying, "You gotta hurry, Josh. Tristan is heading back right now." At that moment, Sarah gasped and remembered what Tristan had taken from her after her attempt to escape before Jim came for her. She twisted her hand from Jim's grasp and ran towards Tristan's office. "Sarah, what are you doing!" Josh yelled after her. "Josh, go get the long boat ready to leave I'll take care of her." Jim said going after her. As Josh went out the front door Jim ran into the office to find Sarah searching through the drawers. By the time Jim was at her side she had retrieved the golden locket Tristan confiscated from her and put the chain around her neck. She looked over to Jim with a smile and said, "Ok now that we've got everything we can go."

Josh was running out towards Joshua who was watching Tristan come back in his longboat which wasn't too far off. "What's going on! Where are the other two?" Joshua asked as Josh leapt into the escape longboat that was prepared. "Sarah had to get something important, but they're – there they are!" Josh said pointing to the two figures bursting out of the entrance.

From the his elevated position in his longboat, Tristan knew that coming back was going to mean facing his problem but he didn't know it would be as bad as it was. He was only 50 feet above the ground and was closing in on the garage where Josh had parked the second longboat and could barely believe what he was seeing. Jim was guiding Sarah over to the garage and she was running like she had nothing behind her that she was going to miss. At first Tristan was torn then that feeling turned to rage and he thrust the controls forward to force the longboat to its fastest speed. Joshua and Josh were getting anxious as they saw him get closer and yelled out in unison, "Come on! Run like there's a black hole behind you!" They looked at each other awkwardly but then returned to getting the long boat ready to take off.

Jim and Sarah still hadn't reached the long boat by the time Tristan abandoned control of his longboat and was getting up to speed with the two of them. Sarah was able to jump into the getaway vehicle before Tristan got to them, but not Jim. Jim had gotten hold of the edge of the ship and was about to jump in but Tristan caught him by the shoulder. Knowing that Sarah wouldn't leave without Jim he tried his best to pry him away from the boat. Before Tristan could get Jim to budge Sarah took a tight grip on Jim's wrists and turned to Josh saying, "Take off now!"

Josh did as he was told and the long boat shot off taking Jim and Tristan up with it. The sudden take off speed didn't loosen Sarah or Jim's grip but Tristan found himself holding onto Jim's ankles instead of his shoulders. Joshua was watching from the ground and saw that Tristan was in trouble. "Oh boy…" Joshua said jumping into Tristan's longboat. He was trying his best to catch up to Tristan and the trio so that he would catch his friend from falling.

Sarah was struggling to pull Jim up into the long boat because every time his head came above Tristan would tug hard on Jim's legs bringing him down and causing Sarah's grip to fail slowly. "What is it about you Hawkins that she loves so much! I did everything for her but I can see that that wasn't enough." Tristan said pulling down harder on Jim. "Tristan, it's not anything you or Jim has done, but you know perfectly well that this world isn't where I belong. My family, my friends, and my future are not here and the only way I can get back to them is if you let me…Please, Tristan." Sarah said looking at him with pleading eyes. Tristan was staring back at her and his eye softened from their stony look of anger. He knew that he was restraining Sarah and that no matter what he did he would never be as dear to her as the people that she wanted to rejoin in her world. Tristan reluctantly let go of Jim and began to free fall through the air.

As soon as Sarah had Jim safely in the long boat she peered over the edge to make sure that Tristan had somehow made it to safety. When she found him, he was sitting by Joshua who had caught him in his longboat. He looked up at her and smiled sadly to wave goodbye. Sarah smiled back and waved back as the three of the approached the worm hole. Jim put his hand on Sarah's shoulder and said, "Get ready, going through is going to be a rough ride." Sarah held on tightly to Jim and the edge of the long boat as they entered the dark void of the worm hole. Josh let down the sail and the turbulence and wind that Josh and Jim had experienced on their first entry of the worm hole. They could feel the long boat spiraling in circles until they felt the cold air of space wrap around them.

Sarah opened her eyes and took a look at the world that she almost completely forgotten. "Welcome home, Sarah." Jim said hugging her shoulder. Josh flew them out to where the ship they had come out on was waiting. "Captain!" Jim called up to the deck. Captain Amelia looked over in surprise and called back saying, "Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Cain, what are you doing back so soon!" "Soon? We've been gone for four days!" Josh yelled back. "That's impossible we've only been waiting for your return for the past 4 hours." The captain told them as they boarded the large ship." The three of them looked at each other and shared a silent laugh amongst themselves. "None the less, it's good to see that Miss Reigns was found unharmed." Captain Amelia stated.

"Actually Captain, during the two months that Sarah has been missing she suffered a blow to the head causing her to forget memories of her past year at the academy." Jim explained. "I see, well then my dear would you be willing to retake your lessons at the academy where after you graduate you will be permitted to join Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Cain on their new ship the R.S. Royal?" Captain Amelia offered. The three young cadets were ecstatic and didn't hesitate to say yes to her offers. A new adventure was starting for the three of them.


	23. Final Ride Home

~One Year Later~

Jim and Josh were riding a speeding longboat headed straight for... the academy's graduation ceremony! "We're late!" Jim yelled over the roar of the engine for the 5th time. "And whose fault do you think that is!" Josh yelled back at him as he landed hastily on the academy's crowded landing pad. "It's not my fault I had to convince Morph to stay home and out of trouble!" Jim said back as they ran to the entrance of the main hall. In their rush they made the mistake of coming in too fast and making a lot of noise while crashing through the door. The entire main hall turned to the door and saw the captain and his first mate sprawled on the marble floor and looking up to the podium with embarrassed expressions. Sarah, whose hair had grown back to half of its original length and was braided again, was at the podium now. She smiled at them and waved her diploma in the air saying "About time you got here, Captain."

After the ceremony, Jim and Josh were waiting outside the academy for their soon to be new crew member. Sarah appeared from the ornamental doors of the main hall and her eyes landed on her two companions. Sarah raced towards them with her new found strength and speed and leaped into Jim's arms. They spun for a moment as Jim tried to regain his balance and Sarah was returned to the ground. "It was a hard year, although I bet it was much harder for Tristan." Sarah said laughing with Jim and Josh. "I'll bet. It was some of the best news we'd heard when you sent us the letter that Tristan had to go to the academy another year for failing galactic politics. Apparently he didn't get along well with others. Who knew?" Josh joked. "Yeah, yeah; don't forget the letter you wrote us about your first day back." Jim said trying to recall what Sarah had written.

"Oh yes." Sarah cleared her throat preparing to do an impersonation. "'Sarah, you don't know how much I wept at your funeral. I truly thought you were gone for good. Now I can spend another amazing year here at the academy with you.' And then I twisted his arm behind his back and said. 'You can spend this year by yourself and be happy doing so…who knew that the martial arts lessons that you paid for would help me out so much.' Oh, the irony!" Sarah finished her story.

"So Sarah, are you ready to get on board as our new navigator?" Jim said grinning. Sarah pulled her graduation gown over her head to reveal that she was already dressed to set out. She slapped a sailor's hat on her head and saluted him saying, "Ready to sail, Captain Hawkins!" Without a moment's hesitation the three of them jumped into the long boat and as Josh thrust the controls forward the engines burst to life and they took off leaving a permanent scorch mark on the academy's landing pad. The blast of the engines drew everyone's attention as they saw the 3 spacers sailing towards the R.S. Royal.

As soon as they docked the long boat below deck Sarah raced up to stairs to the upper deck. She gazed out at the etherium and let the wind catch her hair as she leaned on the railing. Josh took the wheel and Jim walked up behind Sarah and put his arm around her shoulder. "So then Miss Navigator, can help me calculate the direction to Montressor? I hear that there is a party there just waiting for a certain graduate." Sarah grinned and simply looked out in the direction of Montressor. "Port to starboard by 65 degrees, Captain Hawkins." "Alright then, Josh you heard our navigator." Jim called up to his first mate at the wheel. Josh saluted and the wheel spun around and the ship followed suit.

"Let's go home everyone."

~The End~


End file.
